Marvel and Disney have just confirmed two new casting additions to Thor: Ragnarok.

The film will have the two traveling across to cosmos as they will have to deal with a threat unlike anything either of them has ever faced. They will be facing off against Hela (Cate Blanchett), Asgardian goddess of death. But we already new that. Now, it has been confirmed that Jeff Goldblum and Karl Urban will be joining the cast. Find out who they are playing, plus a look at some concept art from the final installment of the Thor trilogy here below.

It had been a long-running rumor that Blanchett would be playing Hela, but now Marvel.com confirms the news, as well as other roles. Goldblum will play the Grandmaster, while Urban will play Skurge, otherwise known as The Executioner. Tessa Thompson (Creed) is confirmed to play Valkyrie.

“The continuation of the epic Thor franchise will be powerful and unique, and with the additions of Cate, Jeff, Tessa, Karl, and Mark to the cast we have the makings of his most dangerous and heroic adventure yet,” said Producer Kevin Feige a statement. “The sheer, raw talent each of these actors brings to the screen can’t be quantified. Having any one of them join the Marvel Cinematic Universe would be an honor, and having all of them is incredible.”

In the comics, Hela has a pact with Death, allowing her to claim the souls of any worshipper of the Asgardians and the Asgardians themselves and take them to Hel or Niflheim, as well as able to travel nearly anywhere within the Nine Worlds in an instant. Hela usually has to wait for a person to die before she can ferry souls, but she also possesses the power to kill any mortal and even Asgardians with a single touch of her finger.

Grandmaster was first introduced in Avengers #69 (October 1969) as a member of ageless Elders of the Universe. Although his comic books origins aren’t clear, he did at one point possess the Mind Stone before he lost it to Thanos. Considering that the Mind Stone is mounted on Vision’s forehead, it is possible that Grandmaster could be given a different Infinity Gem. Or he may not even get one at all. His powers include manipulating the “power primordial,” radiation left over from the Big Bang. In the comics, he has mastered most civilizations’ games of skill and chance, and also goes by The Master Of Games. Based on the characters that Goldblum has played in the past, I’d say the casting is a perfect fit.

Skurge, aka Executioner who made his first appearance in Marvel Comics in Journey into Mystery #103 (April, 1964), is a supervillain who wields a magical double-bladed axe. He is best known for being the Enchantress’ lover and was often used in her schemes against Thor and Asgard. However, Skurge is no sad puppy dog pushover, he is a muscular brute who is proficient in hand-to-hand combat and has a mastery of most Asgardian weapons. Urban has played fantasy characters once before in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but this time, he’ll play the villain. So it should be fun to see him in a opposing role of a genre that he has already been in.

Valkyrie made her first appearance in The Avengers #83 (December 1970) will be played by the Also known as Brunnhilde, she was selected by Odin, to lead warrior goddesses would appear over the battlefields of mortal worshippers of the Asgardian gods and choose which of the fallen were worthy to be taken to Valhalla.

Given some of the characters that will be involved, it is safe to say a lot of what will happen in Ragnarok will directly influence the final two Avengers films. Of course, Marvel has been known do deviate from their source material, so it is possible that Hela and Death do not have a connection, and the cinematic Grandmaster could possibly not be like is comic book counterpart.

Directed by What We Do in the Shadows filmmaker Taika Waititi, our heroes are not expected to pay any visits to Earth as Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, and Natalie Portman are notably absent from the press release.

Thor: Ragnarok hammers its way into theaters on July 28, 2017.

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[Source: Marvel.com]