Karl Urban Reveals Secret Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Cameo

The Star Wars franchise has a rich history of hiding big-name celebrities in plain sight, especially when it comes to the recent sequel trilogy. J.J. Abrams put James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, inside a stormtrooper suit during a scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a move he copied last year with another beloved actor. Karl Urban, star of The Boys and Star Trek, actually had a minor speaking role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

During an interview with Digital Spy, Urban revealed that he actually spent a day on the set of the ninth and final installment of the Skywalker Saga. While there, Abrams decided to dress Urban up in a stormtrooper costume and stick him in the movie.

“Here’s the process,” Urban said. “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.”

What’s even more exciting for Urban is that he got a line in the theatrical cut of the film. There’s a scene in The Rise of Skywalker where Kylo Ren marches through a ship with the Knights of Ren behind him. After turning a corner, two stormtroopers are seen watching the group go by and one simply identifies them as the Knights of Ren.

“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,” he explained.

It’s certainly not a big role by any stretch, but it sounds like Urban was more than happy to don the suit for a day.

During The Force Awakens, Daniel Craig’s stormtrooper appeared during Rey’s escape scene. It was Craig who voiced the stormtrooper that Rey manipulated into leaving her alone while she broke free from Kylo Ren’s imprisonment.

Did you have any idea that Karl Urban was in The Rise of Skywalker? What’s your favorite Star Wars celebrity cameo so far? Let us know in the comments!

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now streaming on Disney+.