Before he was cast as Sakaar’s gleefully eccentric Grandmaster, Jeff Goldblum was approached about a totally different role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In anticipation of Thor: Ragnarok hitting theaters, Uproxx caught up with Marvel boss Kevin Feige, who reflected on Goldblum’s first foray into the bustling world of superhero movies. But had things panned out differently, ol’ Jeff Goldblum would have been drafted into the MCU long before the God of Thunder touched down on Sakaar; in fact, the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom star came close to playing Senator Brandt in Captain America: The First Avenger.
If that name sounds familiar, it should; Brandt was the one responsible for recruiting the young Steve Rogers in the first place, and later transformed Chris Evans’ character into the star-spangled hero we know and love. Michael Brandon wound up landing the role in 2011, and it’s fair to say that Ragnarok and the Grandmaster will lend Goldblum more material to chew on come November.
Besides, why waste an A-lister like Jeff Goldblum on a minor role when you can cast him as the Grandmaster, a character that practically screams “Goldblum-iness” for all to hear? That’s something Feige acknowledged during his lengthy chat with Uproxx, too, stating:
And we had come close. I mean, I’ll tell you, I think we spoke to him or offered him a role in Captain America: The First Avenger. I think the role of the senator that was part of that USO tour in the first Captain America film. And he either wasn’t available or wasn’t interested or whatever. And thank goodness, because that would have just been a small thing and instead we got to wait for the Grandmaster, which is about as amazing as a Jeff Goldblum ‘Goldblum-iness’ could be.
Capping off Marvel’s 2017 lineup in style, Thor: Ragnarok is poised to jump-start a three-film arc for Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, one which will extend into both Infinity War and the currently untitled Avengers 4. Expect the Marvel threequel to come packing a couple of post-credits scenes, too.