"Loki" star Tom Hiddleston explores the final hours of Pompeii
The British actor hosts a three-part documentary series about the eruption of Vesuvius—and reveals how his Marvel role brought him back to the Gulf of Naples
Pompeii – British actor Tom Hiddleston, known as „Loki“ in the Marvel Universe, is hosting a new documentary series about the ancient city of Pompeii. „Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston“ premieres on July 22, 2026, on National Geographic; the series will be available on the streaming services Disney+ and Hulu the following day. The series focuses on the final hours before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
The three-part series combines documentary research with elaborately staged dramatic scenes. In it, Hiddleston traces the fates of three real-life residents: a teenage blacksmith’s apprentice, the businesswoman and bathhouse owner Julia Felix, and an unnamed Praetorian guard. Using inscriptions, archaeological findings, and modern DNA analysis, the series reconstructs who survived the disaster and who perished. Parts of the city were faithfully recreated in Malta for filming. The series also incorporates findings from the excavations at Herculaneum and Oplontis, including analyses of charred scrolls.
As Hiddleston explained, his connection to Pompeii goes back a long way. He began learning Latin in school at the age of ten and later studied classical philology at Cambridge. A visit to the archaeological site in 1998, when he was 17 years old, had a profound impact on him. The place felt like a journey through time; he felt as if the 2,000 years separating him from the city’s former inhabitants had shrunk away.
Ironically, it was his Marvel role that sparked the series. For the series „Loki,“ the actor had suggested a scene in which his character travels back to Pompeii shortly before the eruption. This idea had him thinking about the ancient city once again and ultimately led to the documentary project. It was Loki, Hiddleston said, who brought him back to the Gulf of Naples. He hopes the production has done justice to the people of Pompeii.
Pompeii is one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. The city, preserved under ash and rock by Mount Vesuvius, attracts millions of visitors each year and remains one of the top destinations for travelers to Italy. The Gulf of Naples, with Mount Vesuvius in the background, forms one of the most striking backdrops in southern Italy.
