Tom Hiddleston Is Starring In A Loki TV Show That Has Marvel Fans Super Excited

Marvel fans are in for a treat once Disney's standalone streaming service, Disney+, makes its debut. Tom Hiddleston will star in a Loki TV show, Disney confirmed on Thursday, so the Avengers character will have a project that's all his own.

Loki fans were quick to chime in with their excitement on Twitter, sharing their feelings about the announcement. It had been rumored before Thursday that Loki would get a standalone TV show, with Variety reporting the news in September. But Disney's announcement is the first confirmation that Hiddleston himself would star in the live-action series.

Disney made the announcement during a public call about the company's 2018 earnings. The Disney+ streaming service is expected to debut toward the end of 2019, Disney noted, though it's not clear exactly when the new show would be available to stream.

Fans were quick to tweet about their excitement for the new series. As Disney itself noted, Loki is a "fan-favorite" character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and fans will finally get to know more of his story. Loki first appeared in 2011's Thor, and Hiddleston has gone on to play him in The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Infinity War.

In its announcement Thursday, Disney revealed that it will also produce another live-action Star Wars TV show for Disney+. The new show will star Diego Luna as his character Cassian Andor from 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

When Variety first reported the news about the potential of a Loki TV show back in September, the outlet also shared that Disney would be producing a TV show about Elizabeth Olsen's Avengers character, Scarlet Witch. Disney's announcement on Thursday, though, didn't mention the Scarlet Witch reports, focusing instead on the news about Loki and Cassian Andor. Disney's announcement didn't mention how many episodes each show will have. But Variety's September report suggested that the Loki series, along with the rumored Scarlet Witch series, would each have between six and eight episodes.

Considering how much fandom there is for Thor's brother Loki, it's no surprise that Disney would choose to focus on Hiddleston's character for a standalone TV show. Back in 2015, Bustle argued that Loki deserved his own Marvel movie. And since that doesn't seem to be on the horizon, a TV series will give fans the Loki-focused storyline they've been asking for.

In Avengers: Infinity War, Loki died at Thanos' hands, though some fans believe Loki may have survived. As the fan theory goes, Loki used his left hand against Thanos, Digital Spy explains. Loki did the same thing in Thor: The Dark World, which led fans to believe that, as with that time, he may have faked his own death.

There's no word yet on what time frame in Loki's life would be covered by the new show, or who any of Hiddleston's costars will be. Could Thor himself guest star on the upcoming Disney+ series? It may be a long shot, but hopefully at least a few other familiar faces from the MCU will be featured in the new show.