With the addition of Black Panther to Marvel's Avengers, the current content roadmap has seemingly come to an end. Granted, Crystal Dynamics is still adding DLC for Spider-Man, who was confirmed last year as a PlayStation exclusive, and according to the studio will arrive before the end of 2021. Aside from that, no new characters have been formally announced for either later this year or in 2022. That said, the Black Panther expansion may have unwittingly provided a hint at Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix's future plans.
Recently, one Marvel's Avengers player encountered what is likely a bug where Thor enters a room in the new Wakanda hub world, only for another character to refer to him as Wanda aka the Scarlet Witch. In response, another player shared a screenshot where the same thing happened to them, except this time the character called Thor by his brother's name, Loki, instead. Specifically, they say "Already back, Loki? Always a pleasure."
While Loki is capable of disguising himself as other people, it doesn't make any sense for the character to treat Thor as Loki in disguise. Plus, the dialogue suggests that Loki's presence is welcome despite the fact that he's a villain. The only conclusion to be taken from this then is that Crystal Dynamics intends on adding Loki as a playable character in the future.
At first, this may seem a bit out of nowhere, but long time players know that Loki is already present in the game. During a series of side quests for Thor, Loki appears to cause trouble while disguised as his brother, before completely vanishing afterwards. While some fans likely expected him to return in a future expansion, the possibility of him joining the Avengers is certainly surprising.
Loki has mostly served as an antagonist in his appearances. In both the comics and the MCU, he served as the first villain the Avengers ever faced as a group. However, he has fought on the side of good as well, whether it be for his own benefit (like his playable appearance in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3) or as part of a genuine attempt at redemption (like in the movies). It remains to be seen what his motives for joining the Avengers in this game will be.
At this point, it's best not to treat this as an official confirmation and to just wait for Crystal Dynamics itself to confirm Loki's appearance as a playable character. Although what's interesting is that he hasn't been mentioned in previous, supposed leaks. In fact, the more recent Marvel's Avengers leaks have mentioned characters like She-Hulk and Captain Marvel. Whether this means plans for the game have drastically changed or these previous leaks were simply false is anyone's guess.
Marvel's Avengers is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
