Tom Hiddleston calls himself a “temporary torchbearer” for Loki

In a Q&A in 2021, Tom Hiddleston said he would “absolutely” play Loki for the rest of his life. The actor has been playing the Norse god of mischief since 2011’s Thor, and recently got his own Disney+ series. What’s more, Loki is so far the only Marvel show on Disney+ we know is coming back for a second season, so it looks like Marvel wants to keep him around for a while, too.

That said, Marvel is always changing and providing itself with possible outs. Steve Rogers may be gone, but Sam Wilson has now become the new Captain America. Iron Man is dead, but Ironheart will debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever later this year. And it may eventually come time for a new Loki, as well. And given the events of Loki, which involved the title character meeting dozens of alternate universe versions of himself, something may already be in the works.

That may have been on Hiddleston’s mind when he talked to Variety about the part. “It’s a great role,” he said. “It’s an archetype, the trickster god, the agent of chaos. I’m just here interpreting that for the time being. Loki has been here for centuries and will be here for centuries more and I’m just stepping into that silhouette for now.”

Loki has a future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Loki introduced lots of Loki variants, including a female version named Slyvie, played by Sophia Di Martino. There was also old Loki, kid Loki, President Loki, and of course Alligator Loki, who stole the show. Any of these, preferably the alligator, could become the new “main” Loki sooner or later.

Marvel plays the long game well, but you can still see them playing it. Between introducing Kate Bishop in Hawkeye and Wanda’s kids in WandaVision, it looks like they’re building to a Young Avengers movie or TV show sometime in the future. Loki could be a part of that, but whether Tom Hiddleston is still playing the character when it happens is an open question.

But he will be back in Loki season 2. We don’t have a premiere date for it yet.

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h/t The A.V. Club