Is a 'Loki' Season 3 Really Out of the Question?

Season 2 of Loki wrapped up with a cinematic and tragic finale that brought Tom Hiddleston’s antihero full circle, and may or may not have closed the book on one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most beloved characters.

So, what did the ending mean—and will there be a Season 3? Here's what we know so far.

How did Season 2 of Loki end?

After the destruction of the Time Variance Authority, Loki had spent the penultimate episode of the season on a frantic solo mission through time, trying in vain to find his way out of a doomed loop that always ended with the obliteration of every timeline in the multiverse. This chaos all stemmed from Sylvie’s (Sophia Di Martino) decision to kill He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) in the first season finale, triggering an uncontrollable branching of timelines that would ultimately destroy reality. In the season finale, Loki realized that the only way to prevent the apocalypse was to essentially replace He Who Remains and hold the branching timelines together himself. In doing so, he discovered his purpose and harnessed his full potential as a god, but at the cost of his freedom and his relationships.

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What did the Loki Season 2 ending mean?

Character-wise, the ending was a huge moment, transforming Loki from the God of Mischief into the God of Stories, and completing his 12-episode arc from villain to hero. He comes to his decision by traveling back to the very beginning of his time at the TVA, and his very first conversation with Mobius (Owen Wilson)—another direct link between the series premiere and the finale, both of which are titled “Glorious Purpose.” All along, Mobius has been the one to champion Loki’s ability to change for the better (“You can be whoever, whatever you want to be, even someone good”), so it’s fitting that he inspires Loki’s heroic sacrifice, even though as far as this past version of Mobius is concerned, they’re meeting for the first time.

Loki’s fate would have looked like a victory to the Avengers version of him; he’s a supremely powerful deity who gets to sit on a throne for all of eternity, quite literally holding the fate of the multiverse in his hands. But for this more emotionally evolved Loki, it’s a tragic ending. As he admitted in the penultimate episode, he wasn’t all that interested in saving the TVA or even averting the apocalypse; he just didn’t want to be alone again. But the season ends with him very much alone on his throne at the end of time, mournfully watching his friends’ lives from afar—specifically watching Mobius, who seems adrift after losing him. It’s altogether a gut punch, but also a truly satisfying ending for a character who’s had plenty of false starts at redemption in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before.

Will there be a Season 3 of Loki?

As of now, no plans have been announced for a third season. “We approached this as like two halves of a book,” Loki head writer Eric Martin told CinemaBlend. “Season one, first half. Season two, we close the book on Loki and the TVA. Where it goes beyond that, I don't know. I just wanted to tell a full and complete story across those two seasons.”

In a separate interview with Deadline, he expanded a little on the future of the show: “We take it season by season, and there are certainly things that Tom and I and other cast [members] have talked about of where we see this going, and I know there’s some excitement for that internally, but just from a storytelling standpoint, I think we always conceived of seasons one and two as a whole.”

So, not a no, but it’s also not a yes. And it could be a while before we get definitive news on Loki’s future, because a lot of things at Marvel are in flux right now. As part of a wider overhaul of its Disney+ TV output, the studio is moving away from limited series towards more serialized shows, which should in theory be good news for Loki, the only Marvel Disney+ series so far to get a second season. More than anything else, the show’s future probably hinges on whether Hiddleston is willing to return.

Is Tom Hiddleston done playing Loki?

The SAG strike ended just in time for Hiddleston to do some extremely limited post-finale press, and his interview on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon has some fans panicking. ”It's the conclusion of season two. It's also the conclusion to seasons one and two. It's also the conclusion to six films and 12 episodes and 14 years of my life. I was 29 when I was cast, I'm 42 now. It's been a journey," Hiddleston said, a choice of words that could be taken as a farewell to the role.

But the quote is ambiguous at best, and this is no ordinary role. Hiddleston is famously such a Loki enthusiast that he delivered PowerPoint presentations about the character to his series co-stars, so it’s probably safe to assume he’s not totally averse to wearing the crown of horns again one day.

Will Loki be in the next Thor movie?

The fourth movie starring Chris Hemsworth’s hammer-wielding god, Thor: Love & Thunder, was released to mixed reviews in 2022. Since then, there’s been no official word on whether a fifth movie will happen. Asked about Thor 5 by Variety, Hemsworth responded, “I have no idea what’s happening in the next phase. There’s always conversations… Before anything is official, people are throwing around ideas. But officially, I don’t know.” He added that he would only be interested in reprising the role if the concept for a fifth movie were something a little “unpredictable."

“I don’t want to continue to do it until people are so exhausted that they roll their eyes when they see me come on the screen as that character,” Hemsworth added. “If an audience wants to see it, and if there’s something that we believe is exciting and fun, then great. I’ve loved being able to reinvent that character a few times. I don’t have the answer yet, but I would love to try and [figure out] how we can do that again and keep it a little unpredictable.”

But if Thor 5 were to get the greenlight, it sounds like the plan is for Loki to be involved. In an interview with Variety hooked to Loki’s Season 2 renewal, executive producer Kevin Wright was asked whether the brothers would ever reunite on screen. “I think the sun shining on Loki and Thor once again has always been the priority of the story we’re telling,” Wright responded. “But for that meeting to really be fulfilling, we have to get Loki to a certain place emotionally. I think that’s been the goal of these two seasons.”

This quote makes a lot of sense now, since the finale saw Loki embracing his responsibility as a god for the first time, creating new common ground between him and Thor.

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Will Jonathan Majors still play Kang the Conqueror?

When Majors was introduced in the Season 1 finale of Loki, it was the setup for a whole new chapter in the Marvel universe centered around his time-travelling arch-villain, Kang the Conqueror, who also featured in the post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Majors returned in Season 2 as Victor Timely, a timid human variant of Kang, cementing his importance as a key player in the MCU going forward. The plan was for Majors to headline the long-awaited next Avengers movie, which has the working title of Avengers: Kang Dynasty.

But this March, after filming on Loki Season 2 was complete, Majors was arrested on domestic violence charges against his then-girlfriend; the case will go to trial this November. Police in London have also confirmed an ongoing investigation into a separate incident that allegedly took place there in September of 2022, while Majors was filming Loki.

In light of the allegations against Majors, Marvel executives are reportedly rethinking his future in the MCU, per Variety, and the Loki finale doesn’t create any huge impediments if the role were to be recast for either the big screen or the small screen. In the episode’s final moments it’s implied that the TVA is now focused on hunting variants of Kang, all of whom have been played by Majors so far. But it’s also been established that variants aren’t always physically identical. We’ve seen Loki variants played by Sophia Di Martino, Richard E. Grant and an alligator. And though Loki may have changed a lot, he’s still the god of mischief at heart—is he really going to pass up the opportunity to meddle a little, now that he’s in charge of the entire multiverse? In other words, if a change needs to be made, the Loki finale has arguably made it easier than ever for Marvel to wave that wand.

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