Jeff Goldblum On Playing Grandmaster In Thor: Ragnarok

Last month, when Marvel officially announced the cast of Thor: Ragnarok, we learned that Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) had been cast as the eccentric Grandmaster, one of the Elders of the Universe. In the comics, Grandmaster amuses himself by playing games with the lives of others, and when he devises these high-stakes tournaments and contests, he uses his ability to traverse space, time and dimensions to select his pawns.

"He's a hedonist, a pleasure-seeker," Goldblum explained to Empire, while promoting his upcoming film Independence Day: Resurgence, "an enjoyer of life and tastes and smells. I thought, ' can do that, I'll bet!' I'm working on my part every day. I'm a sponge, researching. [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 will spend "three weeks or a month" filming his part in Brisbane, Australia, and is especially looking forward to shooting Down Under and working with the star-studded cast. "Not only Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Anthony Hopkins… jeez, that's gonna be fun," he said. "I've never been to Australia except to do these little publicity things."

The cast features returning stars Chris Hemsworth in the title role for the fifth time; Tom Hiddleston as Thor's adversarial, adopted brother, Loki; Idris Elba as the Asgardian sentry, Heimdall; and Sir Anthony Hopkins again portraying Odin, Ruler of Asgard. Newcomers to the franchise include Cate Blanchett as the mysterious and powerful new villain Hela, Jeff Goldblum as the eccentric Grandmaster, Tessa Thompsonas the classic hero Valkyrie, Karl Urban as Skurge, and Mark Ruffalo reprising his role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk.

Thor: Ragnarok, the third installment of Marvel's popular Norse Super Hero, is directed by filmmaker Taika Waititi. Kevin Feige will produce the film, joined by executive producers Louis D'Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Victoria Alonso, Thomas M. Hammel and Stan Lee.

Thor: Ragnarok will be released on November 3, 2017.