If you’ve paid really close attention to the closing credits of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, you may have noticed the familiar name of Karl Urban listed under ‘additional voices’, and now the star of Dredd and The Boys has confirmed that he did indeed have a cameo in the closing chapter of the Skywalker Saga.
“Here’s the process,” said Urban in an interview with Digital Spy. “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. 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.”
Here’s the scene in question at 0.42…
Urban isn’t the only celebrity Stormtrooper to pop up as part of the First Order, with the likes of Daniel Craig, Tom Hardy, Ben Schwartz, Kevin Smith, composer Michael Giacchino, director J.D. Dillard, and musicians Dhani Harrison and Ed Sheeran all appearing in the Sequel Trilogy. Prince William and Prince Harry also shot a Stormtrooper cameo for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker sees J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) directing a cast that includes Star Wars veterans Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Kelly Marie Tran (Rose Tico), Joonas Suotamo (Chewbacca), Billie Lourd (Lieutenant Connix), Greg Grunberg (Snap Wexley), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine) and Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa) as well as new additions Naomi Ackie (Lady Macbeth), Richard E. Grant (Logan), Dominic Monaghan (Lost), and Keri Russell (The Americans).