There were many, many, many rumors about Avengers: Age of Ultron leading up to the film’s release, but one of the more enticing ones involved a specific cameo. Idris Elba let slip last fall that he shot a scene for the Avengers sequel, adding that he was working with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. This seemingly confirmed that Loki would make an appearance in the follow-up, but if you’ve seen the movie you know that he actually doesn’t show up. So what gives? Speaking with MTV, Joss Whedon revealed that they did shoot footage with Hiddleston, but it was left on the cutting room floor:

“We did shoot something and it didn’t play or it didn’t—the movie has so much, is so filled and we didn’t want it to feel overstuffed. I really wanted to have Loki in it but I understood the decision that it was just like, ‘Okay now there are too many voices in the chorus.’ At some point the embarrassment of riches is actually embarrassing (laughs).”

The scene in question is of course Thor’s vision after being manipulated by Scarlet Witch, but alas no Loki. Judging by Whedon’s phrasing there, it sounds like maybe he wanted the Loki footage to stay intact, but the powers that be at Marvel thought otherwise.

Regardless, my colleague Matt points out that Loki actually does technically make an appearance: he’s the figure in the green and gold cloak that we see in Thor’s vision, we just don't see his face. Here’s hoping that footage makes the Blu-ray as a deleted scene.


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For all of our recent Avengers: Age of Ultron coverage, peruse the links below:


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Image via Marvel Studios