Marvel Boss Kevin Feige Admits He Had No Idea Loki Would Become So Popular Among Fans — ‘That Was Above and Beyond the Plan’

Tom Hiddleston has become one of the most recognizable actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The talented English actor initially joined the MCU after starring in 2011’s Thor, and has had supporting roles in a slew of Marvel films including Thor: The Dark World and the Avengers franchise. Today, he’s gearing up for the release of Marvel’s newest Disney+ series, Loki.

Despite his villain status, Loki has become one of the most beloved characters in the Marvel universe. Even though Marvel President Kevin Feige was one of the people who decided Hiddleston was best for the role, he had no idea that the character would become so popular. 

Loki is one of the most popular characters in the MCU

The magnitude of Loki’s popularity became clear back in 2013 at San Diego Comic-Con. It was there that a Russian fan snuck past security and asked Mark Ruffalo to give Hiddleston some fan art she created. That was when Feige realized how serious Loki’s fan base was. 

“That was one of the early signs there was much more happening with this quote-unquote villain,” Feige told Entertainment Weekly. 

Kevin Feige had no clue that Loki would become so popular

Looking back on Comic-Con years later, Feige admits he had no idea Loki would become such a popular character. 

“Did we know that after he was the villain in two movies, he would be bringing thousands of people to their feet in Hall H, in costume, chanting his name? No, that was above and beyond the plan that we were hoping for and dreaming of.”

Loki originally wasn’t supposed to survive past ‘Thor: The Dark World’

Even though Loki was clearly a fan favorite after the release of The Avengers, Marvel had planned to kill him off in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World. 

However, the studio changed its mind because test audiences refused to believe Loki died fighting the Dark Elves. Loki was featured in several other Marvel films afterward but ended up dying at the beginning of Infinity War.

Tom Hiddleston is excited for fans to see new parts of Loki

Now that Marvel is preparing to release Loki, Hiddelston is excited for fans to see deeper parts of the character that weren’t shown in movies. 

“I love this idea [of] Loki’s chaotic energy somehow being something we need. Even though, for all sorts of reasons, you don’t know whether you can trust him. You don’t know whether he’s going to betray you. You don’t why he’s doing what he’s doing,” Hiddleston said. “If he’s shapeshifting so often, does he even know who he is? And is he even interested in understanding who he is? Underneath all those masks, underneath the charm and the wit, which is kind of a defense anyway, does Loki have an authentic self? Is he introspective enough or brave enough to find out? I think all of those ideas are all in the series — ideas about identity, ideas about self-knowledge, self-acceptance, and the difficulty of it.”