Thor: Ragnarok's Karl Urban Reveals His Cameo Role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

By Aeron Mer Eclarinal Updated:
Karl Urban, Two Stormtroopers

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker provided an explosive conclusion to the long-spanning Skywalker Saga. Although marking a true end of an era, the final entry to Disney's sequel trilogy earned mixed reception from fans and critics while also serving as the lowest profiting movie of the monumental franchise. Despite that, The Rise of Skywalker still delivered many iconic moments and memorable returns from the franchise's generational heroes. 

Part of the fun of Star Wars films is featuring exciting cameos, and The Rise of Skywalker is no stranger to that. On top of including voice cameos from the remarkable Jedi Knights of the space saga, it was also revealed that Episode IX composer Michael Giacchino had a secret cameo in the film. Not only that, the film's director, J.J. Abrams, provided his voice for D-O while Hamilton veteran Lin-Manuel Miranda was secretly featured as a Resistance fighter. 

And now, it seems that another A-list actor was featured in a cameo role during the final installment of the Skywalker Saga.

NEWS

The Boys and Thor Ragnarok actor Karl Urban recently spoke to Digital Spy, where he revealed that he had a secret role during The Rise of Skywalker. Urban shared that he achieved his "life-long goal" to play a stormtrooper during the film: 

"Here's the process. I had the good fortune to go and visit JJ Abrams [the film's director] while he was shooting The Rise of Skywalker. While I was there, he put me in a stormtrooper uniform and we had a really fun day on set. It's been one of my life-long goals to be a stormtrooper, so I can tick that off now."

In addition, Urban also unveiled the exact moment where his cameo can be seen and heard during the film's theatrical cut: 

"What is in the cut is my voice saying 'Knights of Ren' as Kylo Ren walks down a hallway past two stormtroopers. I am one of those stormtroopers."

You can catch Urban's cameo at the 42-second mark of this clip.

 

WHAT THIS MEANS

The Star Wars franchise is home to a lot of cameos from major celebrities, and Karl Urban adds to the long list of A-listers that already joined the fun. In a way, this is not surprising due to the monumental success of the famous space opera. Urban's comments about his life-long goal of playing a stormtrooper indicate that the actor has the same passion as most fans in terms of being part of the galaxy far, far away. 

Interestingly, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill previously revealed that he voiced a plethora of characters in Disney's Star Wars films, which is saying a lot for the massive pull of the franchise. In conjunction with that, Captain Marvel actress Brie Larson recently revealed that she auditioned for a role for 2016's Rogue One, but, unfortunately, she didn't get the part. Still, it's safe to say that there is widespread interest when it comes to joining the Star Wars franchise.

The next wave of Star Wars films is still a long way away, and the presence of new characters and storylines should be a good sign for those wanting to take part in the space epic. Given that Urban's role was merely a cameo, it's not hard to envision a future where the actor will return to the Star Wars family for a major role. Hopefully, the future slate of Star Wars films will offer more opportunities for celebrities who are just as passionate as fans of the franchise.

- In This Article: Ragnarok (S3)
Release Date
August 24, 2023
Platform
Theaters
Actors
David Stakston
Herman Tømmeraas
Jonas Strand Gravli
- About The Author: Aeron Mer Eclarinal

MCU and STAR WARS Writer