It’s been said time and time again that Marvel Studios has a “villain problem.” Clearly, with their last two films, “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” Marvel seems to have it finally figured out. However, before then, the one villain that was held in such high regard as the pinnacle of Marvel Studios villainy was Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
Appearing in “Thor” and “The Avengers,” Loki was such a good villain that people just wanted more of him. So much so, the powers that be put Loki in “Thor: The Dark World,” and try to give the character a redemption arch. Part of the character’s redemption was the supposed sacrifice he made to save his brother, Thor. However, by the end of the film, it’s shown that the death was another ruse by the villain and he actually takes over the throne behind everyone’s back.
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But, according to Hiddleston, that wasn’t always the case. In a new interview for the Empire Podcast, the actor says that the original plan for Loki was that his death in ‘The Dark World’ was very much permanent, but the popularity of the character prevented it.
“Loki’s death on Svartalfheim was written as a death, and I would say Chris [Hemsworth] and I played that scene for real. That was meant to be, sort of, that he redeemed himself, he helped save his brother, he helped save Jane Foster but that he, in the process, sacrificed himself,” said Hiddleston.
“It was part of the original pitch and, in test screenings, the audience didn’t accept it. They said, ‘He’s obviously coming back. That didn’t really happen.’ And there was a very strange and almost unanimous resistance to it. They decided that wasn’t the end,” continued the actor.
Of course, as we know now, with “Thor: Ragnarok” and ‘Infinity War,’ Loki has turned into a vital part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that the fake death in ‘The Dark World’ actually served the character well.
Hiddleston continues to explain that because of those test screenings, Kevin Feige and director Alan Taylor quickly devised a way for Loki to not only live but to also reach a pinnacle where the next story would pick up from. The actor thinks that the ability to pivot like that is what contributes to the “genius” of Marvel Studios.
“And at the very, very end of the film, the animus he’s had for 3 films which is that he wanted to be Thor’s equal, he wanted to be accepted by Odin as an equal, he ends up on the throne. It’s such a great twist and the reason it works is that I didn’t even know it was a twist!” says Hiddleston.
It’s hard to imagine that the original plan was for Marvel’s best villain (and one of their best characters, period) would have died in Marvel Studios’ work film. Luckily, audiences and the higher-ups at Marvel dodged that bullet.