Jeff Goldblum Putting His Own Spin on the Grandmaster in "Thor: Ragnarok"

CBR

By Lauren Gallaway

Published Jun 6, 2016

"Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi is encouraging Goldblum to take the character to new places, to improvise, and to make the role his own.

As filming for "Thor: Ragnarok" starts in a few weeks, Jeff Goldblum is beginning to share some details on how he's preparing to take on the role of one of the oldest beings in the universe, the Grandmaster.

Goldblum was recently interviewed by Empire, where he discussed his character's motivations and his preparation for the role. "He's a hedonist, a pleasure-seeker, an enjoyer of life and tastes and smells. I thought, 'I can do that, I'll bet!'" The Grandmaster that Goldblum is playing is ancient, he's considered an Elder Universe, a cosmic being with extensive knowledge. In the comics, he is known for his love of games and has set various Marvel heroes and villains against one another in battle, including Death.

Regarding his preparation Goldblum said "I'm working on my part every day. I'm a sponge, researching. [Director Taika Waititi] is encouraging me to improvise and make it my own, and that's what I'm trying to do. I hope he doesn't throw me out on the first day!" Goldblum putting his spin on the Grandmaster could be similar to how Benicio Del Toro played the eccentric Collector in "Guardians of the Galaxy," who is also an Elder. Both the Collector and the Grandmaster have had connections to one another, Thanos, and the quest for the Infinity Gems, which ties into the Marvel Cinematic Universe's currently timeline perfectly.

Filming for "Thor: Ragnarok" begins on July 4 in Brisbane, Austraila, where Goldblum will join Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Karl Urban, and Tessa Thompson.

"Thor: Ragnarok" opens in theaters November 3, 2017.