Hans Zimmer Is Done With Superhero Movies; 'Thor 3' Might Be Tom Hiddleston's Last Time As Loki

Superheroes are forever. Even the ones that don't count immortality among their special powers have a way of surviving, provided they're popular enough that it makes more financial sense to resurrect them than to let them stay dead. But the humans behind superheroes are not forever, and even as these characters' stories continue on and on for decades, the people helping to tell those tales will come and go.

All of which brings us to two stories today of two comic book movie staples who seem ready to move on. In the DC corner, composer Hans Zimmer says he's done with superhero scores after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, while over in Marvel-land, Tom Hiddleston suggests Thor: Ragnarok could be the end of the line for fan-favorite villain Loki. 

Let's start with Zimmer. The legendary composer has scored all three of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight movies, and helped out with the Amazing Spider-Man 2 score. He returned to DC to write music for Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. And now, he says, he's done. Here's what he told BBC HARDtalk:

I did Batman Begins with Chris [Nolan] 12 years ago, so the Dark Knight trilogy might be three movies to you; to me, it was 11 years of my life. Then I did [Man of Steel], then I did this one. And I'm sort of — I have officially retired from the superhero business. It's just me, I started to find – this one was very hard for me to do, to try to find new language.

You may recall that Zimmer wasn't originally planning to do Batman v Superman. He said in 2013 that there were "so many good reasons" for him not to do Batman v Superman, only to relent in 2014 when Snyder agreed to let him bring Junkie XL on board. Now that Batman v Superman is finished, it's hard to blame him for wanting to go do something else. We're just grateful he stuck around long enough to give us that sick Wonder Woman riff. Besides, if you love Zimmer's music, it's not like he's retiring from all movies. Among other things, he's still got Nolan's World War II drama Dunkirk lined up for the future.

As for Hiddleston, he's still got Thor: Ragnarok to look forward to – but that may be it for fan-favorite Loki. "Thor 3 will be cool because I've not done it for four years," he told The Daily Beast. "I love working with Chris [Hemsworth]. This will be my last time out of the gate." Asked whether that meant he wouldn't be back for Avengers: Infinity War, Hiddleston clarified: "I don't know! Honestly, I don't know. They haven't got their ducks in a row yet. They make it up as they go along."

Marvel is famously secretive about their plans (really, it's almost disturbing how often actors joke, or "joke," that a sniper is on standby to take them out if they give away spoilers), so it's possible Hiddleston is just trying not to let anything slip. It's also possible that Hiddleston genuinely hasn't heard anything about Infinity War, which could suggest that even if he is in the movie, it won't be in a major role.

We should also point out that Infinity War isn't opening until 2018 and 2019, so there's still plenty of time for plans to change. Remember how Hiddleston told press he wouldn't appear in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and then wound up shooting a cameo after all, only for it to get left on the cutting room floor? Perhaps we'll have a better idea as to what Loki's future in the MCU might look like once Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters next fall.

Regardless, it seems like a safe bet that Loki won't be in this summer's big Marvel superhero team-up, Captain America: Civil War. But that doesn't mean he and Loki aren't excited for it, as he told the Happy Sad Confused podcast:

 I really enjoy watching it progress in a way. I saw the trailer for Civil War, and I was like 'Wow'...it has come to this.' I feel like if Loki was in Civil War, he'd be sitting on the rooftops somewhere going, 'How marvelous... the children are fighting.' I'm excited to see it.