Tom Hiddleston Reveals The Superhero Movie He Owes His Marvel Tenure To, And I’m Shook It’s Classic DC

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Tom Hiddleston has been a key part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since he first played Loki in the 2011 film Thor. Even though his original Loki character died in Avengers: Infinity War, he continued playing a different version of Loki who now protects the many different realities within the MCU. Surprisingly, despite his long history with Marvel, Hiddleston credits a classic DC movie with helping him land the role of Loki.

In a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Tom Hiddleston said Tom Holland is his favorite Spider-Man, but also gave credit to Tobey Maguire, explaining that Maguire’s 2002 Spider-Man film was important in establishing superhero movies as a major part of Hollywood. Host Josh Horowitz then asked Hiddleston to name the best comic book movie he wasn’t in, and he responded:

When I think about great superhero movies, Tim Burton’s Batman immediately jumps to mind. Michael Keaton is Batman, and Jack Nicholson delivers an absolutely iconic performance as the Joker. It’s a film that really stuck with me.

Though it premiered over ten years before superhero films became popular, Tim Burton’s Batman quickly became a cultural phenomenon, shifting the tone of the genre towards a darker, more realistic style. Michael Keaton took on the role of Bruce Wayne more than twenty years after the lighthearted Batman television show ended, facing off against Jack Nicholson’s Joker. In fact, author John Jackson Miller, who wrote novels based on the Batman universe, told me last October that Burton’s Batman was “the most important comic book movie ever made.”

Tom Hiddleston particularly admired Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the Joker – initially presented as gangster Jack Napier in Batman, and later revealed as the killer of Bruce Wayne’s parents. Hiddleston has said this performance influenced how he approached playing Loki, as he explained below.

Honestly, seeing Jack Nicholson’s performance as the Joker was a huge inspiration for how I approached playing Loki. It really sparked my imagination at the time, because even though he was a villain, he seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself – a trait I recognized in other people. Nicholson’s Joker was also incredibly charismatic, inventive, and free-spirited. I also admired the dynamic between Michael Keaton’s Batman and Bruce Wayne. When I first started playing Loki, I deliberately kept Jack Nicholson’s performance in mind as a guide.

No matter how you feel about Tim Burton’s Batman compared to other live-action films, it’s undeniably a hugely important comic book movie, and Jack Nicholson’s performance as the Joker is still incredibly popular. Burton and Michael Keaton later collaborated on Batman Returns in 1992, but they didn’t return for Batman Forever, which instead featured Joel Schumacher as director and Val Kilmer as Batman. Years later, Keaton revisited the role of Batman in The Flash and even filmed scenes for the canceled Batgirl movie.

Currently, Robert Pattinson is playing Batman in The Batman films, and another version of the character will appear in the DC Universe with The Brave and the Bold. Meanwhile, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Hiddleston is bringing back Loki in Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release on December 18, 2026.

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2026-01-14 18:08