Tom Hiddleston Reveals Why Marvel Is Only Screening 20 Minutes of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

The walls of secrecy surrounding Avengers: Infinity War have been all but impenetrable, and Marvel Studios isn’t letting down its guard in the final stretch to release day. Infinity War hasn’t been shown to any preview audiences ahead of its worldwide premiere – save for a screening of thirty minutes of footage, which was recently shown to select audiences in the UK.

So what’s the reason for such clandestine levels of secrecy? Hey U Guys was interviewed Loki actor Tom Hilddleston at the UK screening of Infinity War footage, and he had quite a revelatory explanation for why Marvel has been so careful with what footage has been shown:

“…the reason they’re not screening the whole film is because there are so many new things that happen in it – things that have never happened before in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – that it’s just more exciting if everyone in the world sees the film at the same time… So that feels new for me, having been in the Marvel Universe for awhile.”

One big reason why Hiddleston himself would want to be careful about revealing too much about Inifnity War‘s storyline is that he is not expected to survive very long in it! From what trailers and other footage have already shown us, Avengers: Infinity War starts out on a brutal note, as we pick up from the ominous post-credits scene of Thor: Ragnarok, with the space vessel carrying the last Asgardians is ambushed by Thanos’ ship, Sanctuary 2. That moment presumably leads into Thanos’ lieutenants The Black Order storming the ship and slaughtering the Asgardians, forcing Loki to give up the Tesseract / Space Stone (and possibly the whereabouts of the Aether / Reality Stone) before slaughtering him as well, and sending Thor and Hulk hurtling into space. In that sequence, Loki is expected to get a dramatic death worth of Tom Hiddleston’s acting chops, as Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is sadistically forced to watch by Josh Brolin’s Thanos.

If the sequence plays out as expected, this would be a fitting “changing of the guard” moment for the big MCU villains, as Loki brutal first arrival on Earth at Thanos’ behest was the memorable (and lackluster) opening to the first Avengers movie. It would also be a moment that instantly makes Thanos and The Black Order seem like frightening monster villains, while at the same time giving the audience a serious emotional gut-punch to make them sit up and realize that there are actual serious stakes to this Infinity War.

As for the future of Loki? Marvel Comics has paved the way, with storylines that have seen Loki reincarnated in different forms – most notably as a female sorceress. With Thor having also gotten a female makeover in the last few years, the Thor franchise could potentially end up with an entire Asgardian sisters dynamic in future installments.

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther is now playing in theaters. Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27, 2018. It is followed by Ant-Man and The Wasp on July 6, 2018, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.