"In ‘Thor’ we only saw Loki in Asgard and Jotunheim, the land of the frost giants, but the film is as much an origin story of Loki as it is an origin story of Thor," explains Marvel Studios President and executive producer of
The Avengers,
Kevin Feige.
"At the very end of that film, you see him literally break away from his past and family. We wanted to see his next step and in ‘The Avengers’ Loki is intent on conquering Earth. His brother has a throne, his real father had a throne, his adopted father had a throne, and now he wants a throne of his own and he feels that it is ripe for the picking. In the very first issue of ‘The Avengers’ comic, it’s Loki who is causing trouble and it brings them all together. So it not only worked into the order in which we were telling these stories in our movies but it also has it own origins in the very first issue of the comic."
Tom Hiddleston looks back fondly on the day he discovered that Loki would have an even more important role in the superhero ensemble.
"Towards the end of the production of ‘Thor,’ Joss Whedon was coming into Marvel Studios a lot because he was writing ‘The Avengers’ screenplay and he asked me to go out for tea. We were sitting in a coffee shop in Santa Monica and he said, ‘So, here’s the thing, Tom. There’s a lot of talk about multiple villains in the film and I don’t want any of that. I want Loki to be the bad guy.’ After I picked my jaw off the floor, I did back flips in the tea room and then we just talked for hours about who Loki was and what his motivations were and the kind of spiritual damage that was at the heart of the character as well as the delight he takes in being a mischievous trickster and an agent of chaos."
At the end of ‘Thor’ he abandons any concern, affection and attachment to Asgard and his family and disappears into the wormhole and people think, is he dead?" asks the actor when talk turns to how the character has progressed from the end of
Thor to the beginning of
The Avengers.
"Where has he gone? Has he gone through a gap in space and time? But anyone who saw the post-credit sequence in ‘Thor’ sees Nick Fury and Selvig conferring over this mysterious iridescent blue cube of energy, which is a source of absolute and infinite power that can bring all who come before it to their knees. Loki’s going to use the cube as his super-nuclear weapon to subjugate Earth and to force the human race to unite in worship of him."
"Initially I was worried that Loki was known for being a trickster, even though he is stronger than most of The Avengers," adds director
Joss Whedon.
"A lot of time was spent building up the character to show how strong and dangerous he was, but at the end of the day, what makes it work is Tom Hiddleston. He really breathes life into the character and gets to be more of the classic Loki character from the comics than he got to be in ‘Thor,’ where he had a very poignant and beautiful arc."
Regardless of the changes that Loki goes through, there's one thing that does stay the same. His rocky relationship with half-brother Thor.
Chris Hemsworth had this to say about where the brotherly rivalry now stands.
"In ‘The Avengers,’ Thor begins as a noble warrior with the right intentions. All of that and then some is tested as he must contemplate what’s more important, his personal relationship with his brother or the team he’s has agreed to fight with? It’s a very difficult decision because he feels maybe there’s still some good in Loki behind all of the misguided evil. I really loved working on ‘Thor’ with Tom because we had so much time to develop our relationship. To come back and work with him again is so familiar. With everyone else, they’re all incredible actors, but you’ve got to find that rapport and build it. With Tom, we know each other’s rhythms and can just get into it."
"Loki feels inferior and rejected by his brother, so I think the relationship between the two of them is palpable and strong," explains Hiddleston.
"Thor’s innately noble spirit recognizes a glimmer of redemption for Loki. That dynamic between Thor and Loki is the engine that propels their emotional journey and keeps that story interesting. You never quite trust Loki and you can’t quite pin him down."
Both Thor and Loki get an updated look in
The Avengers courtesy of Academy Award winning costume designer
Alexandra Byrne.
"Thor’s new sleeveless look was to achieve a less armored look for the conversational scenes between The Avengers," she explains.
"The look also takes a cue from the comics and works well with Chris Hemsworth’s incredible physique. His muscular arms are the iconic statement of Thor, and the discs and red cape are the iconic statements of costume. The key element of Loki’s look in both films is his coat. I felt it was the perfect element of clothing to embody his vanity and to use Tom Hiddleston’s wonderful physical ability and range of movement. The idea came from the elegance and vanity of gentlemen in Rome, parading in their winter coats with up- turned collars at the first hint of chill in the air. Throughout the two stories, Loki has seven different styles of coat, all part of his ability to change his appearance."
•Kevin Feige, Joss Whedon and Robert Downey Jr. Discuss MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS
•The Cast Of MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS Discuss Their Characters In The Superhero Ensemble
•Kevin Feige Describes THE AVENGERS As Being From Nick Fury's Point Of View
•Joss Whedon, Cobie Smulders And More Comment On Maria Hill's Place In THE AVENGERS
•Robert Downey Jr.: "If Steve Rogers And Tony Stark’s Relationship Doesn't Work, Then THE AVENGERS Doesn’t Work"
•Joss Whedon Describes Agent Coulson's "Man Crush" On Captain America In THE AVENGERS
•Robert Downey Jr. And Gwyneth Paltrow On The Return Of Pepper Potts In THE AVENGERS
•Joss Whedon And Chris Evans Discuss The First Day Of Shooting THE AVENGERS
•Joss Whedon And Jeremy Latcham On The Challenges Of Writing THE AVENGERS
•Stellan Skarsgård And Patricia Whitcher On Bringing Back Erik Selvig For THE AVENGERS
•Tom Hiddleston Talks Stunt Training And Loki's Battle With Thor On Stark Tower
•Joss Whedon, Scarlett Johansson And Samuel L. Jackson Talk Black Widow
•Chris Hemsworth And Kevin Feige Talk THE AVENGERS; Reveal How Thor Returns To Earth
•Kevin Feige And Louis D'Esposito On S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Role In THE AVENGERS
•The Cast And Crew Of THE AVENGERS Discuss Assembling On Set For The First Time
•Scarlett Johansson And More Discuss Training For Black Widow's Fight Scenes
•Joss Whedon And Mark Ruffalo On Bringing A New Bruce Banner To The Big Screen In THE AVENGERS
STARRING:
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Ramanoff/Black Widow
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
RELEASE DATE: April 26th, 2012. (UK) May 4th, 2012. (US)