We've heard plenty about the new characters set to join Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron , but there will also be some absentees, with Tom Hiddleston confirming there will be no room for Loki in the forthcoming sequel.
“[ Loki’s ] not in it," says Hiddleston. "Here’s the thing: I don’t think there’s anything else Loki could contribute to The Avengers , narratively."
"Joss gave me so many wonderful things to do in that first film that we’d only be trying to repeat ourselves, and probably less well in the second one.”
“When I think of all the things I loved as a child," he continues, "Hans Gruber wasn’t in Die Hard 2 . And in Indiana Jones , by the time he moved from the Lost Ark to the Temple of Doom, there was a whole new bad guy."
"I think keeping it fresh and new is good for The Avengers even though it’s a shame for me. And let’s face it, there’s seven or eight of them as it is, and Joss is thinking about adding two more, so the screen’s gonna be a busy place. But I had the time of my life on that film. It was the most fun ever.”
We'd have to agree with him as to the benefits of a change in antagonist, and yet Ultron is going to have some very big boots to fill. Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron opens in the UK on 1 May 2015.
