Directors Joe & Anthony Russo weren’t kidding when they said that the stakes would be sky-high in Avengers: Infinity War. To set up the impossible consequences of the film, and to introduce the villainous Thanos in the most effective manner possible, the filmmaking duo opened the film with a death. Picking up shortly after the events of Thor: Ragnarok, Infinity War begins with the God of Thunder and his brother, Loki, fighting Thanos aboard his ship. The scuffle ends with Loki dying at the hands of the Mad Titan, setting him up as the most formidable villain the Avengers have ever faced.
Now several new theories online seem to suggest that Loki is in fact still alive and will make a return in next year’s Avengers 4. According to a highly detailed Reddit post, “Loki is right handed. If you look, in movies since Thor 1 to Avengers 1 to Ragnarok, he wields with his right hand,” the Redditor says. “He holds weapons with his right and the sceptre in Avengers with his right. There are two occasions he uses his left hand (that I’ve found). One, when he fakes his own death in Dark World. You can find him holding the dagger with his left hand during the entire scene. Two, when he stabs Thanos.”
This isn’t the first theory to suggest that Loki made it out alive. Recently another Redditor posted, “Loki has a strong tendency towards self-preservation, and he knows Thanos. So, his actions at the beginning of [Infinity War] are very out of character. Conclusion: the Loki who is killed by Thanos is not actually Loki.” The theory also goes on to suggest that the Loki who died was an illusion. The Redditor also notes that Loki looked suspiciously clean as compared to everyone else on the ship - including Thor.
All this speculation has been encouraged because of Loki’s reputation as the God of Mischief, and the fact that he has returned from the dead before. In addition, pictures of Tom Hiddleston in full Loki garb, have been leaked from the sets of Avengers 4, suggesting a return in some form. Although the scene being shot appears to be a re-imagining of the Battle of New York from the first film.
Hiddleston said at the recent ACE Comic Con that when he “came to shoot the scene in Infinity War, I think it’s very powerful he calls himself an Odinson, and that closes the whole journey of Loki and what he can do. It [Loki’s death] set the stakes up emotionally. It takes the stakes up dramatically. You know that Thanos is someone who’s more dangerous than anyone we’ve seen before.”
With just one more Marvel release to go before Avengers 4, which will function as a conclusion to the MCU, the fate of the Avengers will be revealed in less than a year