‘Avengers 5’: Is A Beloved Marvel Villain Returning To Be the MCU Baddie?
When Thor: Ragnarok dominated the box office in 2017, it breathed new life into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and showed how well the makers could bend to any genre.
Director Taika Waititi took the Thor concept and explored it in ways the first two films never did, blending action, fantasy, and comedy in one critically-acclaimed package.
One of the standouts of the movie, Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster, was especially well-loved. Could he soon be coming back to the MCU?
Who is The Grandmaster?
The Grandmaster made his Marvel comics debut in 2006. While he was popular among fans, he stayed in the darkness for casual observers. The comic book version is a seven-foot-tall ancient who wreaks havoc on the universe. However, By the time the MCU came along and expanded into outer space, Waititi and company gave him their spin.
Goldblum’s Grandmaster was undeniably cruel and served a darkly comedic foil for Thor as he tried to escape the Grandmaster’s planet. This Grandmaster operated much like a Caesar would in ancient Roman stories. He watched people fight in Gladiator-style events and punished any dissidents who did not meet his standards.
Despite all of this evil, his Goldblum-stapled nonchalant way of carrying out these eagles didn’t make him a maligned villain, but a hilarious and bumbling distraction from the film’s main villain, Hela. When audiences last saw The Grandmaster, he crash-landed and appeared to be surrounded by angry natives.
However, if new rumors ring true, the Grandmaster could be making his grand re-entry into the MCU quite soon.
Could The Grandmaster be returning?
The MCU changed forever after Avengers: Endgame. With multiple characters exiting the universe and new ones coming in, the people at Disney and Marvel have a tall task ahead of them.
In a universe that is never averse for making surprising moves when it comes to returning characters, the Grandmaster could be the key to a fantastic next chapter in the MCU, according to Inverse.
“In Avengers: No Surrender, the heroes are joined by a new ally, Voyager. She seems to be a founding member of the Avengers, but it’s revealed she’s actually Va Nee Gast, the Grandmaster’s daughter. The memories of Voyager were inserted into the Avengers’ memories as a way to establish trust. A Benedict Arnold turn like this, combined with memory manipulation, would be the perfect plot twist for a flagship Avengers film.”
This type of plot twist would be perfect fodder for conflict in the MCU. While The Grandmaster might not be the powerful being that Thanos was, his involvement could help shape the fourth chapter in the MCU’s saga.
However, while this is idle speculation, Goldblum may have added some fuel to the fire with recent comments about working with Waititi.
Is Jeff Goldblum on board to return to the MCU?
Speaking about a secret project that Goldblum has in the works with Taika Waititi, Goldblum praised the director for his vision not only on Ragnarok but in his work on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. Goldblum talked to CBR about the potential reunion.
“I’m a fan of [The Mandalorian]!” Goldblum told CBR. “I’m a fan, of course, of Taika Waititi. I adore him, always did before I even worked with him, and maybe we’ll do something again together? We’ve talked about doing something else that has to be secret right now but I would do anything with him, sure, and Disney+ are just a great bunch of people to be associated with. They are a wonderful family, how smart and sweet and kind they are.”
Whether this means an MCU film or TV project or something entirely different, Goldblum is open to working with Waititi again.
With some precedent in the comic books that inspired the MCU, too, it’s not hard to believe that The Grandmaster could return in some capacity. For the time being, he has no involvement in the future of Thor or other Marvel properties. Not yet, at least.
