Why Was Loki Cut from Avengers: Age of Ultron?

Way back in November 2014,ThorandThor: The Dark WorldstarIdris Elbarevealed that he was reprising his role as Heimdall inAvengers: Age of Ultron, teasing that he was filming a scene withChris HemsworthandTom Hiddleston. This revelation surprised many fans, sinceTom Hiddlestonhimself revealed a few years prior that his villainous character Loki would not be back, but, as it turned out, the scene was eventually cut from the final product anyway. While promotingCrimson Peak, which hits theaters October 16,Tom Hiddlestonrevealed toDigital Spythat he was supposed to be in Thor’s “dream sequence” inAvengers: Age of Ultron.

“I was part of the dream sequence for the characterThor. I shot for a day, and I enjoyed it very much. I received a phone call fromKevin Feige, andJoss Whedonemailed me. Basically,Kevinsaid that, in test screenings audiences had sort of over-emphasized Loki’s role so they thought that because I was in it I was controlling Ultron and that it was actually imbalancing people’s expectations soJoss WhedonandKevin Feigewere like ‘let’s cut it’ because it’s confusing people. It made sense to me, when I saw the film.Ultronwas the bad guy, that was important, and that’s why Loki wasn’t in it.”

The “dream sequence” in question is where Scarlet Witch uses her mystical powers to control Thor’s mind, where we saw Thor andIdris Elba’s Heimdall back in Asgard. It isn’t known exactly what Loki did or say in this scene, and we may never know, since directorJoss Whedonhas said that he will never release a director’s cut ofAvengers: Age of Ultron. Thor was also the first to identify what the Infinity Stones were, which will likely be a major part ofThor: Ragnarok.

While Loki will certainly be back inThor: Ragnarok,Tom Hiddlestonhinted in a September interview that he may be nearing the end of his run as Loki. AfterThor: Ragnarok, the actor only has one more movie left on his contract, which will most likely be eitherAvengers: Infinity War Part IorAvengers: Infinity War - Part II. The two-part movie is expected to change the MCU as we know it, so it’s possible that some characters will be killed off, including Loki, but we don’t know for sure.

As forThor: Ragnarok, we reported last week that Marvel is eyeingTaika Waititi(What We Do in the Shadows) to direct, from a script byChristopher YostandCraig Kyle. No story details have been confirmed, and it isn’t known what cast members fromThorandThor: The Dark Worldwill be back for this follow-up. Are you looking forward to seeing what Loki will be up to next inThor: Ragnarok? Let us know what you think after checking outTom Hiddleston’s brief video interview.