Our version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was almost very, very different. Alan Taylor, director of Thor: The Dark World, revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that fan-favorite Loki might not have ever made it to his final meeting with Thanos, or even to Sakaar to meet the Grandmaster — because the much-loved god of mischief died for good in his first cut of the film.

The Emmy-winning director, responsible for episodes of shows like Game of Thrones and Mad Men, revealed to THR that his initial cut of the second Thor film was far different from the much-maligned final release. According to him, his initial “Taylor Cut” was more fitting of the “Dark World” subtitle, with more elements of magical realism and fewer pieces torn straight out of a comic book:

“The version I had started off with had more childlike wonder; there was this imagery of children, which started the whole thing...There was a slightly more magical quality. There was weird stuff going on back on Earth because of the convergence that allowed for some of these magical realism things. And there were major plot differences that were inverted in the cutting room and with additional photography — people [such as Loki] who had died were not dead, people who had broken up were back together again. I think I would like my version.”

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Image via Marvel

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The final edit seems to have radically changed Taylor’s vision for the film, particularly in regards to salvaging fan-favorite characters like Loki after they had seemingly perished for good. And while imagining an MCU without Loki’s antics on Sakaar — or his battle with the TVA, divergent timelines notwithstanding — is a bit of a bummer, Taylor admits that his skillset at the time was not fully equipped to handle such a major film.

“I really admire the skill set of somebody who can go in with a very personal vision — like [Thor 3 director] Taika Waititi or James Gunn,” he said, “And manage to combine it with the big corporate demands. I think my skill set may be different.”

Perhaps things will turn out differently for the director with his latest project, The Many Saints of Newark, the much-anticipated prequel to The Sopranos. The film, which Taylor calls “the hardest job [he’s] ever done”, is Taylor’s first major project since his work on The Dark World — and Terminator: Genisys — nearly pushed him out of filmmaking forever. Out in theaters and HBO Max on October 1, Many Saints certainly won’t pull its punches — or bring anyone back from the dead.

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