‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Spoilers: Marvel Newbies Dish On Their Roles

Everybody already knows Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), but what about the new players of “Thor: Ragnarok” such as Hela (Cate Blanchett), Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson)?

To help give fans an overview, the Los Angeles Times talked to the cast newbies and asked what their roles are all about. Goldblum started by saying that his Grandmaster is a fun-loving leader who made the intergalactic gladiator a must-watch spectator sport.

“If you followed the comic books [then you know that] he’s one of the Elders in the Universe,” Goldblum said. “His brother is the Collector [played by Benicio del Toro in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’], immortal, has fought and beaten death, has superpowers galore, and his games are a playful, playful sort.”

As for Blanchett, she said that it was too tempting to resist being Marvel’s first female villain. However, it was a struggle wearing Hela’s costume. “The headdress is such a huge part of when she comes into the height of her powers in the film,” Blanchett said. “I only wore that really in the photo shoots. I had to sort of imagine what it was like being a reindeer.”

Hela’s lackey is Skurge the Executioner (Karl Urban). Urban said that his character followed Hela not because he believes in her, but because he is terrified of her. “He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s bright enough to make the right choice for him. He’s a survivalist,” he said.

Valkyrie, on the other hand, is an admirable character who Thompson fondly describes as “badass,” but still beautiful and “unconsciously sexy.”

“There’s an unfair position that women are sometimes put in, in the context of superhero movies and action movies where at once they have to be very strong and fierce, but also sexy,” Thompson said. “Obviously, it’s still a superhero movie and so you’ve got to figure out when you need to stand with your hands on your hips and what makes sense. But we wanted to create a character that occupied her own iconography.”

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