WARNING: This article includes SPOILERS from the Loki season 2 finale.
Summary
- Tom Hiddleston clarifies his comments on his future in the MCU after the Loki season 2 finale.
- Hiddleston expresses satisfaction with the finale, as it echoes the themes of the entire journey, exploring Loki’s ideas of belonging, identity, and purpose.
- Through seasons 1 and 2, the confrontation with Mobius and Sylvie allows for a deeper excavation into Loki’s character and his self-perception.
Tom Hiddleston sets the record straight about whether he is done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe following his initial comments after the Loki season 2 finale. Since the MCU’s Phase 1, Loki has been one of the biggest players in the franchise, having gone from big bad to a complex hero in his own right. However, the God of Mischief faced his biggest ending yet in the Loki season 2 finale as Hiddleston’s character became the God of Stories after making an unforgettable sacrifice for the sake of the timeline.
The Loki season 2 ending left things very ambiguous for Hiddleston’s MCU future, and the question remains whether that was the last of his character. While Hiddleston seemingly indicated this is the end for him in the MCU, the actor has now clarified in an interview with CinemaBlend what he actually meant regarding his involvement with the franchise after the Loki season 2 finale, saying:
Well, yes, I suppose what I meant… Perhaps what I should clarify is that I feel very satisfied with the finale of Season 2, because it seems to contain echoes and resonances of the entire journey. It’s almost like a piece of music, where in that last episode, you hear strains of, you know, whether it’s in lines of dialogue, we are circling the same themes that I’ve always circled with Loki. But he’s a character who is engaged with ideas of belonging, ideas of identity, ideas of purpose. That’s who he was at the very foot at the beginning in the first Thor film, wondering where he belonged, which family he belonged to, wondering what his role was in all of this. Thor was destined to be king of Asgard. And who am I? Who is Loki? And I’ve been asking that question the whole way. Like, who does Loki think he is? Who’s he think he is, and who is he really? And then through the series, in Season 1 and Season 2, I think the confrontation with Mobius and the mirror of Sylvie is another excavation, we go deeper into those ideas.
Should The Loki Season 2 Finale Be The End Of His MCU Arc?
Considering the conclusion of the Loki season 2 finale, there is valid reason to question whether this should truly be the end of Hiddleston’s journey in the MCU. It is important to remember that Hiddleston has been part of the MCU since Thor in 2011, making him one of the longest-running cast members of the franchise to date. As iconic and beloved as Loki is, if the season 2 finale was truly the last time the franchise saw him, it is not necessarily a bad thing.
As much as the MCU has improved in growing the franchise with new, exciting heroes and villains, it has also struggled to move on, and Loki, in a lot of ways, is a testament to that. It would make sense if Hiddleston returns for something like Avengers: Secret Wars before the MCU does its rumored soft reboot, as that could serve as a proper conclusion to his arc in the franchise. However, once the MCU gets into Phase 7 and beyond, Loki should have his journey definitively finished.
Hiddleston originally stated that the Loki season 2 finale was “the conclusion to season 2. It’s also a conclusion to season 1 and season 2. It’s also a conclusion to 6 films, 12 episodes and 14 years of my life,” which fueled the idea that he was announcing his MCU exit.
The only way for the season 2 finale’s stakes to feel real and genuine is if the MCU actually sticks to the idea that Loki has fulfilled his destiny. With the endless supply of Marvel characters at the MCU’s disposal, it is healthy for the franchise to be able to move and also leave the audience with a powerful ending for Loki. For now, time will tell if Loki season 2 is truly the last time the world has seen Hiddleston’s character or if this is the start of something brand new for him.
Source: CinemaBlend