Is Tom Hiddleston done playing Loki? The Season 2 finale of the titular Disney+ series seemed to end pretty conclusively, bringing the story of the God of Mischief to a close… Giving him what he professed to always want, albeit not in a way anyone expected.
And Hiddleston seemed to confirm as much when he went on The Tonight Show with host Jimmy Fallon on Friday, November 10.
“It all comes full circle,” Hiddleston told Fallon. “It’s the conclusion of Season 2. It’s also a conclusion to Seasons 1 and 2. It also is the conclusion to 6 films and 12 episodes and 14 years of my life… It’s been a journey.”
Hiddleston stops short of saying “I am done playing Loki,” and Jimmy Fallon doesn’t ask him about it or follow up on this thread in any way because as an interviewer your job is to only occasionally interrupt your subjects with softball follow-ups and go “oh wow” and “cool.” So while it’s possible Hiddleston is done playing Loki, that’s not something that is explicitly stated in the interview — whatever other outlets might be posting.
What he seems to be saying here is that “Glorious Purpose” closes the book on 14 years of storytelling in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which Hiddleston has been an integral part of… From Thor in 2011, through The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. And then continuing through 12 episodes of Loki as he notes.
But — and spoilers for the episode past this point — Loki is not dead at the end of Loki. He is not just alive, but a crucial part of the multiverse as he is powering the whole thing on his lonesome. Loki is no longer Loki, and he is more than He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) ever was. He is… Loktree, the Multiversal World Tree. Or maybe the God of Time or something, unclear. Whatever it is, Loki is still out there, and while 14 years of Tom Hiddleston’s life and character development are brought to a close in the finale, that does not mean he can’t return as Loki in some future movie. Perhaps Avengers: Secret Wars, which will reduce the multiverse down to one, patchwork planet? Seems like the sort of thing the guy who is holding the multiverse together might have something to say about.
Watch Tom Hiddleston Talk The End Of Loki On The Tonight Show:
There’s plenty more Hiddleston had to say about the finale, despite Fallon constantly interrupting and trying to push the conversation over in other directions — again, exactly the sort of thing you want an interviewer to do. But Hiddleston, undeterred, kept returning to talk thematically about what the Loki finale means to him, and the character.
You can read a transcript of his thoughts below, followed by the full video. I don’t recommend that, though.
“In the finale, I do think there are echoes and resonances of every version of Loki that I’ve played. And I think, without spoiling it — the episode is called ‘Glorious Purpose.’ And if you remember, in the first Avengers film, Loki comes down to Earth, looks straight at Sam Jackson as Nick Fury, and I say, ‘I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose.’ And he’s arrogant, and he’s hubristic, and he’s entitled, and he’s puffed up, and he’s going to take over the world. And then, you know, it doesn’t go so well for him. We’ve all seen Infinity War. Face to face with Thanos. Not so glorious. At the beginning of Season 1, Mobius, played by Owen Wilson — the best ever… He basically shows Loki the glorious purpose was a fallacy. And he gets kind of a second chance. And that, I think, was the most exciting thing about this show was seeing Loki try to rethink and rediscover that sense of purpose, which we can all relate to. We all wonder if we’re in charge of our own story. Can a leopard change his spots? Do we have any free will? And in exercising free will, you make choices in your own life. You get a — I don’t know — you get a black coffee, or a latte, or a cappuccino, that’s a choice. I mean, it’s a small choice. Every choice you make adds up to the picture of your life. And do those choices inform your purpose? And I think all of us as people want happy lives, but we also want lives with a purpose. And that’s really what the show is talking about… I the end he comes back to meaning, and identity, and family, which is really what Loki has always been about. It’s always been about purpose and family.”
