Tom Hiddleston is opening up about his longtime Marvel character Loki’s coming-out story, which draws the god of mischief closer to his comic book origin.
The actor reprises his role as Loki for a new Disney+ series bearing the same name as his character.
“I was just really honored to be asked,” Hiddleston told The Guardian in an interview published over the weekend of his TV series role. “We all wanted to retain the integrity of the character — I wanted to make sure we didn’t lose the bits that people loved, while doing something new.”
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“I also hope Loki coming out as bisexual was meaningful to people who spotted it,” Hiddleston added. “It was a small step, and there’s further to go. But it was definitely important to all of us.”
Marvel comics portray Loki as queer and gender-fluid. While Marvel Studios confirmed Loki’s sexuality in a clip released before the Disney+ show premiered, Hiddleston’s character hints at being bisexual in a scene with a version of himself known as Lady Loki, who goes by Sylvie.
Sylvie asks Loki if he’s interested in “would-be princesses, or perhaps another prince?”
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“A bit of both. I suspect the same as you,” Loki answers.
“Loki” director Kate Herron tweeted about the conversation after the episode aired.
“From the moment I joined Loki it was very important to me, and my goal, to acknowledge Loki was bisexual,” Herron wrote on Twitter in June. “It is a part of who he is and who I am too. I know this is a small step but I’m happy, and heart is so full, to say that this is now canon in [the] MCU.”