Although at times it feels like Avengers: Age Of Ultron includes every character who has ever appeared in a Marvel film (and even one who already starred in an entirely different superhero franchise), it turns out writer/director Joss Whedon did leave at least one big player on the cutting room floor: Tom Hiddleston’s Loki doesn’t pop up anywhere in Ultron, despite the fact that Idris Elba got in some hot water for spoiling a Loki cameo last fall.
MTV spoke to Whedon, who confirmed that Hiddleston did shoot some scenes for the film—they just didn’t make the final cut. Whedon jokes, “Idris misspoke… twice.”
He goes on to explain:
We did shoot something, and it didn’t play. The movie has so much. It’s so filled. We didn’t want it to feel overstuffed. I really wanted to have Loki in it, but I understood the decision that there were now too many voices in the chorus… At some point the embarrassment of riches is actually embarrassing.
Whedon has hinted at the frustrations he felt creating Ultron under increased franchise pressure from Marvel, and it seems like this may have been a case where the studio overruled his vision. Of course, it’s also possible he simply realized there wasn’t room for Loki, though his tone implies the decision was at least partially out of his hands.
Hiddleston fans need not worry, however, the trickster god is definitely returning in Thor: Ragnarok, which hits theaters July 2017. And those who were hoping for more Thor cameos in Ultron in general can rest easy. too. Not only does Elba turn up in the cameo he already spoiled for everyone a few months ago, Stellan Skarsgård’s Erik Selvig returns for his whopping fourth MCU appearance—meaning he’s now been in more of these films than Hawkeye or the Hulk.