Thor 3 Image Gallery: Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster Revealed

Screen Rant

By Cooper Hood

Published Mar 8, 2017

New photos from Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok bring his style into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and unveil Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster.

There's an argument to be made that the Thor franchise has so far been the worst one to exist within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This not to the fault of Chris Hemsworth or many of the other characters, but more so because Marvel consistently tied the Asgardian to Earth instead of letting him explore the vast unknown. That is all set to change with Thor: Ragnarok, as Marvel has hired indie director Taika Waititi and appears to have let his weirdness shine through.

To make the third Thor movie bigger than any of the previous installments, Marvel isn't holding back. Mark Ruffalo will appear as Hulk and will even be seen going toe-to-toe with Thor in a gladiator match for the ages. When the former Avengers teammates meet on Sakaar, they will encounter a number of new characters, from the world's ruler Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) to possibly another competitor in Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). Thanks to new Ragnarok photos, many of the characters both new and old are featured in a colorful adventure.

EW has released nine new stills from the movie that offer new looks at Thor, Vaklyrie, Loki, and Hela, while also giving us our first look at Goldblum as Grandmaster. The environment appears to be the confines of Sakaar and the gladiator tournament, and the setting is far more colorful than expected.

[vn_gallery name="Thor: Ragnarok EW Image Gallery" id="919289"]

Just in case there was any concern that Ragnarok was going to be exactly like the previous installments, these early bits of marketing should prove that this could not be farther from being the case. Not only is the cast expanded and includes a number of noteworthy comic characters, but the color palette alone is closer to that of Guardians of the Galaxy - which makes sense, as this is said to be another cosmic adventure.

With most of these photos appearing to take place on Sakaar, this gladiator realm is far nicer than how it is traditionally depicted. If this is Sakaar as believed, it looks as though the competitors are less of prisoners and have a bigger area to explore between matches. With various alien races being on display and the presence of a bar, the setting feels more like a night club. That said, this could very well not be Sakaar and be a stop on the adventure that Thor, Loki, and possibly Valkyrie go on.

Loki and Thor's new duds are on display, but there is also a shot of Mark Ruffalo. It is unclear if this is a behind-the-scenes photo of him and Hemsworth joking around in between takes, but if it is an actual scene from the movie, Bruce Banner then has a presence and looks pretty good for being trapped on another world for some time. Some fans may also be disappointed that the film does not fully embrace Grandmaster's all-blue look, but in a movie that looks to be very bizarre, taking this liberty to ground it a bit could make sense. Either way, these photos are only the beginning and fans should get more looks at the Ragnarok soon.