Last week, Marvel Studios revealed the full cast list for Thor: Ragnarok, and one of the biggest surprises was the addition of Star Trek actor Karl Urban as Skurge the Executioner. Best known for aligning himself with The Enchantress, the character’s inclusion in the threequel came completely out of nowhere, as did the Dredd star’s decision to join the MCU.
It’s pretty obvious that the villain will join Hela in her battle against the God of Thunder in Thor: Ragnarok, and talking in a recent interview to promote the release of Star Trek Beyond (which recently got an a new character poster featuring Urban as Bones), the actor weighed in on his decision to play the henchman:
“I read a fantastic script that was action-packed and full of great characters. When I heard who was involved — and the cast list dropped yesterday — and [saw] the opportunity to work with [director] Taika Waititi, who I think is one of the most brilliant directors coming through, I made the decision it was something that I wanted to be a part of. And the character is fantastic. He’s got a great arc to him. Obviously I can’t say too much about it, but I’m really thrilled to be a part of the Marvel universe and to be working on Thor: Ragnarok.”
Urban wasn’t willing to reveal much more about Skurge beyond that, but he did mention that he’ll be shaving his head for the role, so Thor: Ragnarok will clearly feature a pretty faithful take on the character in terms of appearance, even if he is working with Hela instead of The Enchantress.
What will be really interesting to see though is how Skurge’s allegiances possibly change as the movie progresses. In the comic book version of Ragnarok, he ends up siding with Thor in order to fight again Hela’s army of the undead, so chances are the character could get a similar redemptive arc in Thor: Ragnarok next year as well.
