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THOR: RAGNAROK Adds Jeff Goldblum, Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban, Tessa Thompson

We’ve had barely a second for the dust of Captain America: Civil War hype to settle and we’re already setting our sights on Thor: Ragnarok, which announced an insane supplemental cast to its already impressive line-up. Names like Jeff Goldblum, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson, and Karl Urban. Oh, and good ol’ Hulk is gonna be in this one, too, we’ve gotten officially confirmed at last. Hooray!

The news came via an official release via the Marvel website, where we not only got the names of the newest cast members, but also their roles. Are you ready to speculate wildly as to what it all means? Because there are some real doozies getting set up in this film. Blanchett will play Hela, a “mysterious new villain”; Goldblum will tackle the role of The Grandmaster (something we’re very excited about); Tessa Thompson is the badass Valkyrie, and Karl Urban will be Skurge.

Now, if you’re unfamiliar with these names and want to remain as such, now’s the perfect time to scoot on out of this post. If you want to know more, however, check out the new concept art they also sent our way:

thor-ragnarok-concept-art-marvel

OK, ready? Now, the name we’re most excited about ’round here—because how could we not be?—is the one, the only, the ‘blum. Goldblum’s character, The Grandmaster, already has major familial connections to the MCU. He’s the brother of The Collector (aka Benecio del Toro’s character we saw in Guardians of the Galaxy) and—and oh god, we are going to need to see those two team up on screen immediately. Playing one of the elders of the universe, Goldblum is perfect for this role, his eccentricities making him the most apt weirdo for the part.

Per our own Dan Casey, here’s what he had to say:

“The Grandmaster is one of the more complicated characters in Marvel’s canon. One of the Elders of the Universe, the Grandmaster is the blue-skinned survivor of an ancient race of intelligent life that formed shortly after the Big Bang. Virtually immortal, the mega-powerful being is best known for being addicted to high stakes gaming; no, not League of Legends — this guy makes people fight as his champions against other cosmic badasses for sport, which was most famously chronicled in the 1982 Marvel Super-Hero Contest of Champions storyline. Now picture that guy as Jeff Goldblum. You’re welcome, Internet.”

I can’t imagine adding anything else to this, so I’ll let the Collector do it for me:

Benicio-Del-Toro-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-collector

Blanchett’s character, Hela, is a villain with incredibly interesting origins—she’s Loki’s daughter. She’s the one who, alongside her dear ol’ dad, tries to bring on the Asgardian end of days known as Ragnarök, so it feels safe to assume she’ll be a major player in the film. Power-hungry and mischievous as all get-out, Blanchett in the MCU has us tingling with anticipation. Oh, what a double act her and Loki will be. Though some fans may be disappointed, as they’d speculated that Kat Dennings’ Darcy would somehow fill that part.

Valkyrie, Tessa Thompson’s character, is another badass entirely. Otherwise known by her real name Brunnhilde, (or Barbara Denton-Norriss, or Samantha Parrington, or Sian Bowen, and or Annabelle Rigg), Valkyrie is hand-chosen by Odin to lead the Valkyrior—aka the badass warrior goddesses of Asgard that ride on winged horses in the war between Odin and Hela for rule of Valhalla. That’s right: Tessa Thompson’s probably going to have a badass squad of ladies riding winged horses. UM, YES PLEASE?

And then there’s Skurge, Karl Urban’s character. This one’s a straight-up baddie in the battle for Valhalla, having previously aligned himself with Hela/Loki in the past (And—spoiler alert—getting put permanently on Thor’s bad side after he tried to take out Jane Foster, and not in a date way). A mortal executioner with Frost Giant and Asgardian blood boiling in his veins, and a regular ally of the Enchantress, Skurge will likely go at it with Hulk in some sort of intense battle (either before or after he goes on the hunt for Valkyrie). Is there a chance for this guy to turn around? Of course: this is the world of comic books …and also he’s had to align with Thor in the past.

Needless to say, we’re positively giddy over the idea of Thor: Ragnarok. What do you think of the new characters? Let us know in the comments below.

Images: Marvel


Alicia Lutes is the managing editor of Nerdist and co-host of Fangirling. Find her on Twitter (@alicialutes).

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