Loki was supposed to die in 'Thor: The Dark World'

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 8/13/21

First, the "Snyder Cut."

Then, there was the "Ayer Cut."

And now this.

Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter and lamented how differently the finished product was from what he originally intended—his "Taylor Cut," if you will.

"The version I had started off with had more childlike wonder; there was this imagery of children, which started the whole thing," the Emmy winner said. "There was a slightly more magical quality. There was weird stuff going on back on Earth because of the convergence that allowed for some of these magical realism things. And there were major plot differences that were inverted in the cutting room and with additional photography—people [such as Loki] who had died were not dead, people who had broken up were back together again. I think I would like my version."

In the 2013 MCU installment, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) fakes his own death. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) tells his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), that he does not wish to ascend his throne as King of Asgard. As Thor walks away, Odin morphs into a grinning Loki—alive and well.

Hiddleston recently joked about Loki's uncanny ability to evade certain death while visiting The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in July.
"I really did think it was the end," the 40-year-old British actor said of his character. "I mean, I thought it was the end a couple of times, to be honest. There was once after Thor: The Dark World, and then after Avengers: Infinity War, which you'll remember the opening few minutes of that film felt pretty ... conclusive."

"There was a big round of applause on set and lots of, you know, loving notes from the studio saying, 'We love you, Tom, and come and see us anytime. You'll always be part of the family,'" Hiddleston continued. "And I hung up my boots and said goodbye. ... That's the thing about Loki is—what do they say about Loki? He's like, 'I'm Loki, and when I die, I don't.'"

And Loki is thriving. Disney Plus premiered its original scripted Marvel Studios' Loki series, which follows the events of the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame, on June 9. The first season's finale episode revealed that the series was renewed for a second season.

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