How Loki Can Still Appear In The MCU After His Disney+ Show

The series premiere of Loki on Disney+ is drawing closer and many are wondering if Tom Hiddleston’s iconic character has a future in the MCU; here's why the God of Mischief should. By giving this beloved character his own show, Marvel is acknowledging that they recognize Loki’s popularity and potential, even a decade after his first appearance on the big screen. Since his introduction in Thor and his reprisal as the villain of The Avengers, Loki has been a fan favorite because of his charm and unpredictability.

Although the trickster god was killed in the opening minutes of Avengers: Infinity War, his return in the series is certainly not the first time Loki has resurfaced after seeming MCU deaths. His demise was a fitting end in the sense that it completed his redemption arc when he died trying to stop Thanos, thus validating his brother’s unwavering faith in him. It also added depth to Thor’s story and his overwhelming sense of loss that fueled his actions in the rest of the movie. However, it felt a bit anticlimactic for a character so complex and deeply entangled in the MCU to meet his fate so abruptly. Loki makes his return in the much-anticipated series which takes place long before the events of Infinity War. It features a 2012 version of Loki who has just been apprehended by the Time Variance Authority for breaking reality when he reclaimed the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame.

Loki could have a lot of potential in MCU Phase 4. In trailers for Loki, he appears to travel across dimensions of reality and different locations in the universe in his work with the TVA. This could give Loki a connection to many upcoming films including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Marvel is clearly setting up Phase 4 to have a heavy emphasis on the multiverse, alternate realities, and time travel, and Loki seems to fit right into this narrative. The series could even introduce Kang the Conqueror into the MCU, an inter-dimensional being and one of Marvel’s biggest villains, before his appearance as the main antagonist in Ant-Man 3.

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A new way to keep the God of Mischief around and interesting after his series would be to introduce alternate versions of the character like Lady Loki or Kid Loki. In the comics, Loki takes many different forms in his multiple escapes from death, including female, child, and even animal versions of himself. Appearing as one of these forms, perhaps as a Loki from another reality, could certainly happen in Phase 4’s multiverse. In fact, Loki set photos leaked last year show actress Sophia Di Martino seemingly in costume as Lady Loki, potentially setting up a way for Loki’s MCU return, albeit in a different body. But the existence of Loki's alternate forms does not necessarily mean Tom Hiddleston’s portrayal of the character is done after the series. Hiddleston’s input and passion for playing Loki are a huge part of his appeal, and Marvel knows this.

Loki has the potential to always be a relevant character in the MCU because of his versatility and unpredictable nature. In all of his previous movie appearances, it’s been difficult to determine at any given time what his true intentions were or whose side he was really on. He is a powerful force with his clever mind, shape-shifting, astral projection, telepathy, and so many other sorcerer abilities. He keeps the audience on their toes, is incredibly charming, and has been a key figure in both the MCU and Marvel Comics. Simply put, Loki is too valuable a character for Marvel to put on the shelf forever.

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