As you may have read a few days ago, Star Trek Beyond's Karl Urban is trading Federation space for the mighty Marvel realms and Asgard and elsewhere, signing on to play the villainous Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok. Empire got a chance to talk to Urban at a Star Trek event this weekend, and asked how closely Skurge will stick to his comic book roots.
Naturally, needing to keep away from spoiler territory, he had to be careful what he said, but he did open up a little. So, will Skurge be causing trouble for Chris Hemsworth's Thor and Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner/Hulk? "Yes, as he’s represented in the comics. I can’t really say too much about it but I’m thrilled to be working with Taika Waititi, who I think is one of the most thrilling directors to come around in a long time and such an extraordinary cast," says Urban, referring to the fact that the roster also includes Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum and Tessa Thompson in addition to returning faces Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba. "I read the script and it was so on point that I had to be a part of it. It’s a fun, action-packed, character-driven piece and the character of Skurge has a fantastic story, a great arc. I can’t wait to do it. We start in August."
Skurge in the comics is one of Asgard's greatest warriors, born of a Frost Giant and an Asgardian and known in different stories as Skurge the Executioner, The Evil One and, we're not making this up, Hans Grubervelt. Will there be a Die Hard reference in Ragnarok in tribute? That you'll only find out if you go wading in a magic vision pool.
Thor: Ragnarok storms into UK cinemas on October 27, 2017. Star Trek Beyond, meanwhile, is out on July 22 this year.