As the days go by in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the heroes and villains get one step closer to Avengers; Doomsday. They don't know it yet, but the characters within the most famous franchise in Hollywood are about to experience another universe-shattering event that will bring so many of them together; except this time it will be multiverse-shattering.
The franchise's Multiverse Saga has had its ups and downs for sure, but it has all been building towards one thing: The arrival of Doctor Doom, portrayed by none other than Marvel legend Robert Downey Jr. - who returns to the movie series in the new, villainous role. The villain will be looking to create a Battleworld that could plunge the MCU's Multiverse into chaos and it will take an army to stop him.
The good thing is that there are plenty of heroes - and even some villains - from the franchise's past, present, and future, who are willing to stand against him. And now one of the original crop of MCU stars has officially confirmed he will be among them.
Tom Hiddleston breaks silence on Loki's MCU return in Avengers: Doomsday
Tom Hiddleston has officially confirmed that he will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Loki in Avengers: Doomsday. The star appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to discuss his new movie The Life of Chuck and, of course, the MCU came up. Hiddleston couldn't give anything away about what his involvement in the movie would be or what the next chapter of Loki's story would look like, but he did confirm that we will see him there.
"I can exclusively tell you... I will be there."
Hiddleston is one of the many actors we were all anticipating an appearance from in the MCU's upcoming crossover - and not just because Marvel announced his name among 25+ other actors during the initial Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal. Given how imperative Loki's story ended up being to the Multiverse Saga, he was one of the characters who had to appear in either Avengers: Doomsday or its 2027 sequel Avengers: Secret Wars.
The God of Mischief's most recent appearance in the MCU came in the finale of the second season of Disney Plus' Loki, in which the notorious Trickster makes the most selfless choice of his life, enchanting all of the timelines in the multiverse and holding them together with his magic. There, at the End of Time, he sits on the throne, guarding the timelines, for The God of Mischief has become the God of Stories. And fans are still in awe at what many people believe to be one of the greatest episodes that Marvel Television has ever produced. It's hard to argue with that.
Although that ending seemed to rule out a third season of Loki, it actually made the titular character's return inevitable. Loki replaced a version of the former Multiverse Saga big bad Kang The Conqueror at the End of Time, so he was always destined for a run-in with the main villain who is trying to obliterate the timelines. It appears that Doctor Doom will be that villain now and he may take issue with Loki's new role as the God of Stories.
Hiddleston is one of the MCU's longest-standing actors. He made his debut as Loki in 2011's Thor but it was his role as the primary villain of 2012's The Avengers that truly saw him take center stage as the God of Mischief. He's widely-regarded as one of the franchise's best villains / antiheroes, with returns in Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. After his character's apparent demise, he returned as an alternate timeline version of the character (see: Avengers: Endgame), who then went on to headline the Disney Plus series Loki. It will be this variant who appears in Avengers: Doomsday.
Given the scope of this film and the fact that it's set to be one of the biggest Marvel - and indeed superhero - movies ever made, it's only fitting that one of the franchise's greatest characters is involved in what appears to be a major capacity.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in movie theaters on December 18, 2026.