'Avengers: Endgame': Is Loki Secretly Controlling Thanos?

The most prominent villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally met his demise in the opening moments of Avengers: Infinity War, when Loki was choked to death by the Mad Titan known as Thanos.

But given how many times Loki has "died," only to reveal it was all just a trick, has fans thinking that this is another ruse. And with Tom Hiddleston likely to reprise the role in Avengers: Endgame, there are a lot of theories spreading around. One in particular suggests that Thanos isn't the main villain after all, and that it's the God of Mischief pulling strings once again.

Loki is ALIVE - Endgame THEORY from r/marvelstudios

Of course, this theory might play against the actor's own comments. Hiddleston has spoken at length about Loki's redemption over the course of Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War, showing that he's finally overcome his own issues and decided to fight for a greater purpose.

"The thing is, he is redeemed. I found it very touching because Loki, as a character, has been so broken for so long," Hiddleston said at ACE Comic Con in October. "I think the center of him has been very fragile and very isolated after those traumatic events in the first film when he finds out that he was adopted. Not only was he adopted, but that his father had left him to die, so he has internalized that shame of being abandoned and being alone.

"And all of that shame has turned into something harder and angrier, which is why he becomes the villain he becomes. He comes down to earth, he tries to subjugate it, he becomes a villain, in every sense of the word. He's motivated by hatred and anger. Then he loses his mother and he's still not self-aware, in that way," he added.

But in Ragnarok, he finally achieves some semblance of peace and then eventually makes a sacrifice in Infinity War.

"And it's only losing his father, who calls him one of his sons--Odin inlcudes him, he says, 'Oh my sons,' at the beginning of Ragnarok--and the chaos of another sibling, Hela, turning up and Thor and Loki have to join forces, and Thor really gets through to Loki in that that, so to have it all come full circle and for Loki call himself an Odinson, to really identify with that, to identify with the strength of his father's love before saving his brother, I found really touching."

Fans will see if Hiddleston himself was pulling a Loki in attempting to mislead people, and if this theory holds true, when Avengers: Endgame premieres in theaters on April 26th.