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It's hard to believe it, but the Skywalker Saga has been over for months now. J.J Abrams' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker arrived last December, and ended the nine-film narrative that began with A New Hope. The galaxy far, far away is known for including some celebrity cameos, and it turns out that Abrams snuck in one more that was kept under wraps: The Boys' Karl Urban.
Karl Urban has had a long career and TV film, with a few notable science fiction appearances in projects like Thor: Ragnarok, Star Trek, and Dredd. And while he never wielded a lightsaber or met Princess Leia, it turns out Urban had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Star Wars role. The actor recently shared this information, saying:
Here's the process. I had the good fortune to go and visit J.J. Abrams 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.
There you have it. Karl Urban has officially the ranks of celebrities like Daniel Craig and Prince William and Harry as someone lucky enough to slip on a Stormtrooper trooper uniform and get a quick role in Star Wars' sequel trilogy. What's more, we may have a detailed location as to when exactly Urban appears in Episode IX.
Karl Urban's comments to Digital Spy reveal the latest celebrity cameo that filmmaker J.J Abrams snuck into his pair of Star Wars movies. In addition to casting longtime collaborators like Keri Russell, Abrams also put Urban and some of his other friends into cameos for The Rise of Skywalker. Now the actor knows what it's like to be in that iconic costume, which presumably inhibits your ability to aim.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is currently streaming on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
Later in that same conversation, Karl Urban went on to explain exactly when in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker you can spot The Boys star. And it turns out he was even given a line of dialogue, despite not being heavily featured in the scene. As he tells it,
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.
Does anyone else feel the need to re-watch Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker right now? Because after all these months of dissecting the blockbuster and having questions answered, there are still surprises arriving. This time in the form of one Karl Urban, who can now boast that he's been in both Star Trek and Star Wars. We'll just have to see if we get another movie with his character McCoy.
The Star Wars franchise is currently shifting its focus onto live-action shows on Disney+, with The Mandalorian earning a whopping 15 Emmy nominations. As for Karl Urban, he can be seen on the second season of Amazon's The Boys, going toe to toe with superheroes in the process.
Season 2 of The Boys will arrive on Amazon on September 4th. Be sure to check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
