Thor: Love and Thunder became the latest addition to the God of Thunder's MCU legacy with its opening weekend having just come and gone for Marvel Studios. While director Taika Waititi brought back a plethora of characters from his own Thor: Ragnarok and the first two Thor movies, a couple of people were left behind, including fan-favorite Jeff Goldblum.
The longtime star first won over fans with his performance as the Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok, ruling over Sakaar as Goldblum brought a wild and zany new personality into the MCU. He even returned to play the role in voiceover fashion for last year's What If...?, showing how much he enjoys embodying the Elder of the universe as the Grandmaster continued to shine.
Ahead of Thor: Love and Thunder's release, there were rumors about Goldblum coming back as the Grandmaster for a second time in live-action, although it was a mystery how he would be used in the story. Unfortunately, he joined a few actors who filmed scenes that didn't make the final cut of the movie,
Jeff Goldblum's Cut Scenes as Grandmaster
Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi spoke with Insider about cutting scenes from the movie featuring Jeff Goldblum's Grandmaster.
The director shared a look into his process, explaining that he always goes into a movie expecting to cut the same amount of material that he cut for Marvel Studios' fourth Thor movie. Even if a scene is "the most funniest thing or intriguing thing" on its own, Waititi knows that it works "best for the film" to leave it out when needed:
"I wrote the thing so when you cut anything it's a little bit of a challenge to yourself because you're like, 'Am I not that good? Should I have seen this coming?' But every film I've done I've probably cut the same amount out. When you go into the edit you just never know. A scene on its own could be the most funniest thing or intriguing thing, but sometimes those things if you keep them in will just make the movie screech to a halt. So you have to do what's best for the film."
He also noted how the actors involved in these scenes, including Jeff Goldblum, know how the process works when it comes to cutting their own scenes:
"And if you ask any of those actors who were cut out — Jeff Goldblum, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage — they all understand how it works. They have been in the game long enough. But that's just the way I look at things."
When asked if he'd tease what's coming, Waititi wouldn't budge, and the simple reason behind that decision is that the scenes "aren't good enough" to include:
"I'm not going to give you a moment because this is my way of telling you, like, people say, 'I can't wait for the deleted scenes with those actors.' I don't want people to see the deleted scenes because they're deleted for a reason: They aren't good enough. The scenes were not in the movie and that's it."
Goldblum's Scene Not Good Enough?
While Jeff Goldblum won fans over with his role in Thor: Ragnarok, it appears that Waititi's bottom line of making sure every scene was good enough won out for Thor: Love and Thunder.
Goldblum is far from the only actor who had material cut from this blockbuster film, as scenes featuring Peter Dinklage's Eitri from Avengers: Infinity War were also left on the cutting room floor. This also comes on top of the news surrounding Game of Thrones' Lena Headey, who wound up in a lawsuit over her own deleted role that wasn't used in the sequel's theatrical cut.
Whether these scenes with Goldblum ever see the light of day is a mystery, although it seems clear that the Grandmaster still has a chance to return to the MCU in future outings. Waititi has also discussed the potential of bringing his own director's cut of Thor: Love and Thunder to the public, which would likely include more humor, providing a slim chance that Goldblum could appear in that version.
Thor: Love and Thunder is now playing in theaters worldwide.
