Avengers: Doomsdayseemingly isn’t holding anything back when it comes to its cast. Not only will characters fromThunderbolts*, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Fox’s X-Men films show up, but the film will also featureChris HemsworthandTom Hiddlestonreturning as Thor and Loki. This is a big deal: the last time the two godly siblings were together was inAvengers: Infinity War, where Loki told Thor: “I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again.” It was a poignant scene, made extremely tragic by the fact that Thanos (Josh Brolin) snapped Loki’s neck right in front of Thor…butDoomsdayis ready to reunite the two, and the timing couldn’t be better.
Thor and Loki Have Changed by Leaps and Bounds After ‘Avengers: Infinity War’
Thor and Loki’s potential reunion won’t just be a potential emotional bomb, but alsoa reminder of how far the two have come. FollowingInfinity Warand his failure to stop Thanos from eradicating half of the universe’s living beings, Thor sank into a deep depression. It wasn’t untilEndgame, which allowed him and the other Avengers to reverse Thanos' decimation — and for him to havean emotional reunion with his mother Frigga(Rene Russo) — that he finally got over it.Thor: Love and Thundertook this even further, as Thor reunited with his first love,Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), while battling Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale). The reunion was bittersweet: Jane wound up succumbing to her cancer, but Thor would adopt Gorr’s daughter Love (who was portrayed by Hemsworth’s real-life daughter India) and travel across the universe defending the innocent.
Loki, on the other hand, has had just as epic journey…especially because the Loki we know isn’t the Loki Thor knew. This Loki came from a different point in time following the climax ofThe Avengers, where he tried to escape utilizing the Space Stone…and was promptly apprehended by the Time Variance Authority, or the TVA for short. Eventually, Loki wound up having to save all of time and spaceby weaving together the threads of the multiverse andserving as a focal point for all existence. This is whereDoomsday’s potential reunion could play out: how will Loki react to seeing a Thor who’s become a father and finally found his own “glorious purpose?” How will Thor react upon learning that his brother is literally holding all the world in his hands, and has found his own throne? It’s bound to be a tearjerker, andJoe & Anthony Russoexcelled at balancing action with emotion during their previous MCU films. Hopefully,Doomsdaywill follow in the same footsteps.
Loki Could Play a Major Role in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
Loki serving as the center of reality could tee up the major conflict inDoomsday, and one that the wider Multiverse Saga has only hinted at.Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnesshinted at “incursions,” cataclysmic events that occur when two parallel universes are in the same space. Likewise,Deadpool & Wolverineintroduced the idea of an “anchor being”, an individual whose entire existence holds their universe in place.It’s possible that Loki has become the MCU’s anchor beingvia his actions, and that could mean Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) targets him throughoutDoomsday —which would give Thor all the incentive he needs to run into saving his brother.
The idea of incursions was also introduced inJonathan Hickman’sNew Avengers, where the secret superhero society known as the Illuminati resorted to desperate measures to save their Earth. Hickman andEsad Ribicfinally brought things to a close in their version ofSecret Wars, where a final incursion ripped reality apart…only for Doctor Doom to craft a new world out of what remained, and using the power of the Molecule Man to do it. In a recent interview, the Russos confirmed thatAvengers:DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warswill draw from the 2015 and 1984 versionsofSecret Wars;this means that Doom could potentially use Loki in place of the Molecule Man.Avengers: Doomsdayhas teed up one of the MCU’s most exciting reunions, so hopefully the Russos and screenwriterStephen McFeelycan pull it off.
Avengers: Doomsdaycomes to theaters on July 20, 2025.
Avengers: Doomsday
