Thor 3 Release Date, Cast and Plot Spoilers: Tom Hiddleston to Return as Loki

Marvel has revealed that Tom Hiddleston would reprise his role as Loki in the third part of the Thor film franchise, which is titled "Thor: Ragnarok."

The film is due to land in theaters on July 28, 2017. Marvel President Kevin Fiege further discloses that the film will take place after the events in the upcoming "The Avengers: Age of Ultron."

The announcement that Hiddleston will be returning as Loki, the so-called "god of mischief," has triggered enthusiastic anticipation among fans.

Until now the Thor film franchise has featured Loki as an adversary. He was the main villain in the first Avengers movie. There he allied with Thanos who launched an alien invasion of Earth.

Hiddleston has since become a fan favorite even though he is an adversary of Thor and the Avengers. In "Thor: Ragnarok," Loki nearly causes the destruction of Asgard.

The last we saw of Loki was in "Thor: The Dark World" where he assumed the role of Odin and took over the throne while Thor left Asgard to accompany Jane (Natalie Portman) to earth. Going by the timeline announced by Marvel, after "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," Thor will return to Asgard and figure out that Loki has taken control.

There is no word whether Loki will feature in "Avengers: Infinity War" Part 1 and Part 2. However, Screenrant, when reporting on the announcement of "Thor: Ragnarok," mentioned that Loki's scepter actually holds one of the Infinity gems. The gem could actually be the "Mind" stone and will be combined by Thanos along with five other gems to form the Infinity Gauntlet.

With the Infinity Gauntlet a key feature of "Avengers: Infinity War" Part 1 and Part 2, we could see Loki make an appearance in the film and play a role in how Thanos acquires all the gems.