Well, Marvel fans, Thanos is not messing around in Avengers: Infinity War, and it looks like Tom Hiddleston's Loki got the worst of it. Fans first met the morally ambiguous villain in Thor, when we learned that the God of Mischief was actually Thor's brother, and he's been a fan-favorite ever since. Now that it seems like Loki has bit the dust, I have one question: How long is Tom Hiddleston's Avengers contract? I'm really hoping that Avengers: Infinity War isn't the last time we see Loki, because the world — and the Marvel universe — could always use more of the British babe. Warning: Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War to come.

According to Den of Geek, Hiddleston is believed to be on a six-film deal with Marvel. Fans have already seen Hiddleston in Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War, so if he does somehow survive Thanos' wrath, the untitled Infinity War sequel (aka Avengers 4) will be his last film with the franchise. Based on what fans saw in Avengers: Infinity War, any appearance of Loki's will likely be a flashback or some kind of alternate-reality cameo. In November 2017, Hiddleston was seen on the Avengers 4 set wearing a throwback outfit. Unless this is all an elaborate stunt to confuse Marvel fans, it's safe to say that he'll be in the 2019 film in one way or another.

Of course, there's always the possibility that Loki's shocking death in Avengers: Infinity War isn't permanent, but this time, I'm not so sure. Loki basically dies in every Marvel film, so his death in Infinity War may seem like a "Boy who cried wolf" situation, but in each of the previous films, he wasn't facing someone as powerful as Thanos. Plus, Loki's death neatly tied up his story line with a (somewhat) happy ending: Loki sacrificed himself to save his brother Thor, putting him squarely in the "good guy" camp once and for all. As awful as it was to watch Thanos crush Loki's neck with his massive hand, Loki's gesture of goodwill was well worth it.

Marvel fans are still mourning the loss of Loki, but according to Hiddleston, his character wasn't originally intended to be around this long. Loki was originally supposed to die in Thor: The Dark World, but test audiences refused to believe that the character was truly dead. As a result, Marvel re-shot the film to reveal that Loki was posing as Odin, the King of Asgard. Hiddleston told Empire:

Loki's death on Svartalfheim was written as a death and I would say Chris [Hemsworth] and I played that scene for real ... It was part of the original pitch and in test screenings, the audience didn't accept it. They said, "He's obviously coming back, that didn't really happen." And there was a very strange and almost unanimous resistance to it. They decided that wasn't the end.

Can we get a round of applause for the test fans who saved Loki? Seriously, mad props, guys.

Hiddleston also explained how Loki was originally supposed to die, and it sounds just a little bit like one particular Avengers: Infinity War death:

That was meant to be that he redeemed himself. He helped save his brother, he helped save Jane Foster but that he, in the process, sacrificed himself.

Take out the Jane Foster part and you've pretty much got exactly what happened to Loki in Avengers: Infinity War. Even though Marvel shifted the timeline of Loki's death, it's clear that they wanted Hiddleston's character to be fully redeemed by the end of his run.

Even if Loki only gets a flashback scene in Avengers 4, I'll be OK. Some Tom Hiddleston is better than no Tom Hiddleston, right?

Avengers: Infinity War is currently in theaters. The still-untitled Avengers 4 movie premieres on May 3, 2019.