I think the majority of us agree with the fact that Loki, one of the most complex and acclaimed MCU characters, deserved a better ending to his redemption arc. I have decided to write this post in order to spread some hope that this is not the last we’ve seen of the God of Mischief.
First of all, his death was not convincing nor fitting for a character that is known for dying and coming back in almost every movie he is in (and don’t forget about the comic books). If the directors intended to make his death believable, they should have made him use his powers, try to trick Thanos with his illusions or attempt to fake his own death again and ultimately fail. He should have had a good plan only for it to be disrupted by Thanos and the fact that he doesn’t even seem to try makes me think either Loki is not dead or he let Thanos kill him on purpose.
It’s interesting that neither Loki nor Doctor Strange seem to use the infinity stones they own against Thanos. Even Thanos acknowledges that Strange doesn’t “use his greatest weapon”. But we know that Strange made use of the time stone to see into the future and realised that he (and half the universe) had to die in order to win in the end (presumably). Maybe Loki knew this as well. Maybe his death was also necessary in order to reach that outcome and that’s why he let Thanos kill him.
“The Tesseract can show visions of the future, which may or may not come true. The people who have seen this power are the Red Skull, Eric Selvig, and Hawkeye […]” [source] Loki seemed to be looking at the tesseract very intently before saying “I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again” to Thor. The tesseract could have shown him a vision of a future in which Thanos is defeated and Loki’s brought back to life somehow, hence the optimism of his statement. Also, I’m 100% sure this line is foreshadowing, it’s too cryptic and striking.
Also, it’s odd that Loki just drops the tesseract on the floor and doesn’t even try to pick it up while Thanos is distracted, considering he seemed so unwilling to give it away only a moment before. I guess he was too busy doing… whatever it is he was doing while Thanos was beating the crap out of the Hulk and killing Heimdall. Because, really, where was he? If the Russos’ intention was to make us believe Loki was out of options and would finally meet his definitive end, it was not a good idea to have the audience lose sight of him for 4 whole minutes, especially since he’s a character who has faked his own death before and whose most distinctive traits are being mischievous and unpredictable.
When being asked about Loki’s death at Ace Con 2018, Tom Hiddleston said “I’ve known about that scene for two years. I met with Marvel in May 2016, and they were actually telling me the story of Ragnarok with concept arts and images. […] My whole journey through making Thor: Ragnarok I knew this was coming” [source] Tom knew about his Infinity War scene back in 2016 and yet he said this about Loki on September 2017: “He’s cunning and transformative and changeable and will do everything he can to survive. He’s the trickster. He’s the God of mischief.” [source]
Tom Hiddleston also had a reassuring message for fans who were worried about Loki before Infinity War was released: “Loki is the God of Mischief, the Lord of Misrule, an Agent of Chaos. Chaos isn’t something that’s threatening to Loki and everything’s fine.” [source]
Even Loki himself reminded us who he was right before being ‘killed’ by Thanos. “I, Loki, prince of Asgard, Odinson, the rightful king of Jotunheim, God of Mischief […]”. His last words “you will never be a god” also point out the fact that he is a god (and Thanos is not). This line sounds too cryptic as well, it’s almost like Loki is telling Thanos “I know something you don’t”.
It is also known some members of the cast filmed at least one scene in Durham Cathedral (2017), and Tom Hiddleston was supposedly among them. Although he has not been photographed, different people claimed to have spotted him on the set.
The scene(s) shot in the cathedral never made it into Infinity War. However, it is unclear whether this footage was shot for Avengers 4. It’s important to remember that this location was also used to film Thor’s vision in Age of Ultron, a vision which seemingly represented Hel. We also know that Loki’s death in Thor: The Dark World was originally intended to be real, although not definitive, as Thor was supposed to travel to Hel and retrieve Loki in Thor: Ragnarok. [source] Perhaps this idea has not been fully discarded, which would be a plausible explanation as to why Chris, Tessa and Tom were spotted filming in Durham. It could be assumed that Loki is truly dead this time, but not for good: Thor would go to Hel in order to bring him back from the dead, hopefully in Avengers 4, or in another Thor movie. You can read more about this on this Reddit thread.
It’s actually a fact that Loki will appear in the next Avengers movie, as these leaked photos of the A4 set confirm.
These photos suggest that Avengers 4 will recreate the Battle of New York. The widespread assumption that Loki’s presence in the pictures indicates a flashback is wrong, as we can see Scott and an older Tony in the company of Captain America, who is wearing his old costume (meaning he is Steve’s past self). Thor and Loki are also dressed as in the battle of New York and Loki is gagged. He has something that looks like the tesseract in his hand and this doesn’t add up to the events of the first Avengers movie, which could mean that time travel is involved. This alone doesn’t prove that Loki is alive in the current timeline, but maybe his death can be reversed if the Avengers alter the past. In any case, at least we can be sure that his past self will play a role in the movie.
Kevin Feige tweeted this letter dedicated to the fans after Infinity War was released. We can see Thanos’ gauntlet as well as a Loki keychain in the picture, next to the letter, which seems suspicious since Loki’s role in IW was pretty limited.
When it comes to Kevin Feige, it is also important to point out that he has barely spoken about Loki’s death. In fact, when asked specifically about Loki, he only said that the scene was emotional, as were some other scenes in the movie [source]. He seemed to avoid answering the question by beating about the bush and repeating the same thing over again. One would think that if this were Loki’s final scene, Feige would have something more to say, considering that Loki is a fan favorite and that Feige himself always seemed to appreciate the character.
In addition, Jeremy Conrad seems to believe Loki could come back and has hinted he will on several occasions. For those who don’t know who this man is, he’s a journalist and the founder of MCU Cosmic and he has proven himself to be a quite reliable source when it comes to information regarding the MCU. This is what he said on the matter at hand:
Then, he shared the link to a brief article about the possibility of Loki being brought back to life through time travel. You can read it here.
Two months later, this was Jeremy Conrad’s response when someone suggested Tom Hiddleston should be the next James Bond:
He basically hinted that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is not over yet though when some users asked him to elaborate he didn’t answer. We all know that Avengers 4 is in post-production by now and this movie definitely won’t keep Tom busy so we can assume Jeremy Conrad is referring to the possibility of Loki being in other MCU movies yet to be announced.
Many of you may not know this but some weeks ago a man who claimed to have worked at Tom Hiddleston’s house tweeted that Tom has signed up for 4 more Marvel movies:
We should take this with a grain of salt but I personally think he might be telling the truth. Though I’ve chosen to hide his username because of the negative response he got for this tweet, this is not just an anonymous person hiding behind a computer screen, but someone who has personal information on his twitter profile, such as pictures, location, occupation (he is indeed a plumber and works in the UK) and he deleted the tweet once it started to gain some attention. He said he only wanted to share the good news but regretted tweeting about it because of the way Loki fans had reacted (some were calling him a liar). However, he insisted that he wasn’t lying and that we would see Loki in more movies. To be honest, I was really skeptical about this whole plumber thing at first but a few days after this, Jeremy Conrad insinuated that Tom Hiddleston won’t be James Bond because that would be incompatible with his role as Loki, so, even though 4 more films sound too good to be true, I think something might be going on with Tom’s contract.
At this point, it seems there is more evidence of Loki coming back than being permanently dead but, of course, nothing is confirmed yet. I’ve made a list of links just in case you want to read more theories about Loki’s death:
This is the first post that I have seen that comprehensively provides an actual plausible explanation for Loki’s return (even though I have believed that return to be inevitable, I have not been able to give my followers a fully formed analysis as to how). THANK YOU FOR THIS POST.
–Who issued the distress call in the very, very beginning? Does anyone know?
–Anyone who thinks Loki wasn’t abused by Thanos need only hear the first line uttered by his minion in the first scene: “Hear me and rejoice. You have had the privilege of being saved by the Great Titan. You may think this is suffering, but no. It is salvation.” This is the most simultaneously deranged and manipulative thing that I’ve ever heard. And you can’t tell me that in his long quest to destroy half the population of the universe, Thanos didn’t command that ALL HIS FIELDMARSHALS be indoctrinated in this warped ideology of SALVATION THROUGH SUFFERING AND DEATH. Who does that sound like? “I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose/Freedom is life’s great lie/You were made to be ruled.” Now we understand the context in which he spoke words that were so breathtakingly out-of-character; to many Loki fans this has been obvious from the start, but now you can see openly how Thanos twisted Loki’s own bitterness and insecurity to his own purpose. Loki was fresh from physical and psychological torture–and we know that canonically Thanos can warp people’s memories to his will as well.
–-I mean, “Smile (interestingly a tactic often used by misogynists/rape culture on women!), for even in death you have been made CHILDREN OF THANOS,” and it cuts to LOKI watching the speaker. LOKI WAS MADE A CHILD OF THANOS, like Gamora and Nebula, like God knows how many other MISFITS THANOS COLLECTED LIKE ANTIQUES TO BE ABUSED TO HIS ENDS. HEY HEY! REMEMBER LOKI’S LINE TO *ODIN*: “SO I AM NO MORE THAN ANOTHER STOLEN RELIC?” no fucking wonder this worked on him! Maybe he believed for the better part of his adulthood that father figures who masquerade as benign dictators are MEANT to use the sons they only conditionally “love.” Amen Gamora: “THIS IS NOT LOVE.” THANOS COLLECTS *PEOPLE* LIKE HE COLLECTS INFINITY STONES. May he die screaming for the love he never gave.
–Thanos picks up Thor while soliloquizing about losing, invoking both Loki’s failure in New York and his failure to protect Thor. Loki is so brave to stand there in front of the figure of his nightmares and feign disinterest.
–I hope people realize that Loki was never going to give Thanos Thor for the Tesseract, and was instead stalling for the Hulk (wherever the fuck the Hulk was, what the hell, writers! T_T; ) to come attack Thanos so he could pull Thor to safety???? I hope nobody actually thinks that at THIS point in his character development, Loki would sell Thor out. Look at his visible distress, he screams “Alright STOP!” at the top of his lungs. And then he closes his eyes. And God, he does that out of FRUSTRATION AT HIMSELF, that his love for Thor is and always has been so great that ultimately it trumps his legendary survival and self-preservation.
–Are we never going to address that Loki stole the Tesseract as a failsafe, IN ORDER TO TRANSPORT PEOPLE LOL SAFELY ACROSS SPACE *AWAY* FROM THREATS LIKE THANOS, then never fucking USED the thing????? Making him look like an imbecile AND a selfish traitor haha? HA? GOD.
–”I assure you brother, the sun will shine on us again” is delivered with amazing skill, and the slightest quaver of fear and sorrow.
–Okay I lost my composure at Heimdall’s death and started sobbing. What a needless character sacrifice.
–Wheeeeere did Loki go? There is no way Loki is off screen for no reason. This is the moment when something will be explained in Avengers 4. I hope it means Loki’s survival or resurrection but regardless of whether it does, something is happening off-camera, or otherwise Thor would have been allowed in the narrative/camera work to spot where Loki is hiding.
–Thor: “You’re going to die for that!” Woooow I am crying harder now!
–Are Thanos’s simpering lackeys supposed to make me viscerally despise him even more than I already do because their rambly praise is certainly achieving that end.
–Yeah he is WAY too cocky and bouncy when he returns. Although this could also be the cruelty of the Russo narrative, giving us hope that Loki has a foolproof plan and will survive the scene, making it even more shocking when he doesn’t.
–”I consider experience experience,” sick burn baby ❤ I love you with all my heart.
–Okay losing my shit again because when he turns to Thor and says “Odinson,” LOKI IS BRACING THOR FOR LOKI’S OWN DEATH. He knows he’s going to die here. Whether he hatched a plan off screen or just knows this is futile. He is bracing his big brother to lose him just as he lost his father, his people, his home, and his best friend Heimdall. And then he bows his head with TEARS in his eyes because he knows, “here is my last shot, and here is my end.”
–”You will never be a god” LIKE ME. Tell him. I love you for your courage. I love you.
–”No resurrections this time” is a taunt to the audience but it’s ALSO A TACIT NOD TO WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DARK WORLD, and possibly also btween Thor 1 and Avengers Assemble, because how else would Thanos KNOW Loki had resurrected?
–Thor crawling to Loki’s body because he has one small sliver of hope that he’s faking it :’)
–Okay, merely one scene in: I feel like this movie is dangerously suited to the hopelessness of our times. And it was unnecessary and foolish to make it. All it has done is add to the despair of its audience, who saw various heroes and antiheroes within this franchise as a reflection of their hopes, and a form of escape from life’s pain. It’s shameful that all this suffering and sorrow were written SOLELY to make money off of the next film’s fix-it plot.
This whole scene was well-acted but poorly-written, poorly because everything, including characterization and plot, was subservient to making the audience hurt as much as possible.
Loki’s last moments. // ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
The way he pauses before Odinson, and looks at Thor after, breaks my heart.
He was warning him to be braced because he expected to die, whether he shows that or not in the actual confrontation. He expected to die and whether it was for a kamikaze mission or because he has a bigger plan in mind and knows Thor must suffer through losing him again, remains to be seen.
But Loki wanted Thor to be braced. Loki, who is keenly aware of the pain of loss. “You’ll never be ready” he told Thor of Jane’s mortality. He was also talking about himself.
Embedded in Loki’s ultimate sacrifice, then, is another, subtler act of love, toward his brother.
icyxmischief 