Judging from the first trailer, "Thor: Ragnarok" makes plenty of nods to its Marvel Comics source material, from the Kirby-esque design elements to Skurge's defense of Asgard to Hela's ornate headdress. However, one notable departure is in the depiction of Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster. Sure, he has the shoulder pads and the pointy hair, but what about the blue skin? It turns out there's a very good -- and very funny -- reason for that.

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"Because he did another movie where he was blue," director Taika Waititi told IGN.com.

earth girls are easy

That movie is "Earth Girls Are Easy," the 1988 sci-fi musical comedy in which Goldblum played one of three furry, colorful aliens -- Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans were the other two -- who land in southern California in search of female companionship. Starring Geena Davis and Julie Brown, whose 1984 song inspired the film, "Earth Girls Are Easy" was a box-office flop, earning a little more than one-third of its $10 million production budget. Still, over the years it's developed a bit of a cult following.

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In "Thor: Ragnarok," Goldblum's Grandmaster is on the Elders of the Universe and ruler of the barbaric planet Sakaar, where gladiatorial games are conducted for his amusement. It's there that Chris Hemsworth's banished Thor is pitted against Mark Ruffalo's Incredible Hulk.

Opening Nov. 3, “Thor: Ragnarok” stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Cate Blanchett as Hela, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Karl Urban as Skurge, Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/the Hulk and Anthony Hopkins as Odin.