‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Spoilers: Jeff Goldblum Talks Playing The Grandmaster

Many Marvel enthusiasts are excited to see what director Taika Waititi did with the upcoming “Thor: Ragnarok,” and the excitement is partly due to the involvement of actor Jeff Goldblum.

Goldblum, who takes on the role of the Grandmaster in the movie, said he was thrilled to have been given the opportunity to work with Chris Hemsworth after starring with his brother, Liam Hemsworth, in “Independence Day: Resurgence.” He had nothing but praise for Chris, with Goldblum telling Entertainment Weekly that the Australian hunk “couldn’t have been sweeter or more down-to-earth, like the whole family.”

READ: Cate Blanchett talks about her villain Hela for “Thor: Ragnarok”

Unfortunately, Goldblum said he did not share any scenes with Cate Blanchett, who plays the villain Hela. However, since they both starred in “The Life Aquatic,” Goldblum said they had been in touch. “I’ve seen her since. I just adore her, so it was great to be in another movie with her, even just by association,” he said.

But for Goldblum, the icing on the cake would definitely be working with Waititi. “He really got me involved in this because I’m a fan of his, from ‘Flight of the Conchords’ and all his movies, not only ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ and ‘Boy’ but especially ‘What We Do In the Shadows,’” he said.

When they first talked about the Grandmaster, Waititi made this request: “I want you to do your particular version of this character without being comic-y or grandiloquent. I think you should do something that’s in your creative family tree. And also improvise.”

Due to all the improvisation they made while filming on the set, Goldblum said they had a genuinely good time. He even believes Waititi would have a difficult time piecing the movie together because they provided him with “a whole bunch of different choices.”

One thing markedly different about Goldblum’s character in “Thor: Ragnarok” is that he won’t be sporting his trademark blue hue like in the comic books. When asked about this change, Waititi told IGN, “Because he did another movie where he was blue.” Waititi was referring to the 1988 box office flop titled “Earth Girls are Easy,” according to Movie Web. In it, Goldblum played Mac, a blue-skinned alien who crash-landed in a pool that belonged to girls from Southern California.

At the same time, Waititi made changes to another comic book character, Korg, an 8-foot-tall rock creature that originated from Marvel’s “Planet Hulk” comic storyline. Waititi played the character for the movie, although he admitted he initially wanted to get another actor for it. “Obviously, being made of rocks, we wanted somebody like The Rock to play him, but there wasn’t enough chicken or salmon in Australia to sustain he and Chris,” he jokingly said. “I never thought I’d be playing the most lovable character in the film.”

“We wanted to change the idea of what a hulking guy made of rocks could be,” he continued. “He’s huge and heavy, but with a light soul. We wanted to make him funny and a relatable entry point into this world. And Thor needs friends.”

“Thor: Ragnarok” will be released on Nov. 3.