From the heavens of Asgard and the violent metropolis Mega City One to the sprawling lands of Middle-Earth and the inter-galactic travels on the Enterprise, Karl Urban has inhabited many worlds. But the Kiwi actor is now all set to return to the small screen.
The Thor: Ragnarok, Dredd, Lord of the Rings and Star Trek star was in Dubai from March 5-7 attending the Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC), where he spoke at an hour-long In Conversation panel about his illustrious career, starring in some of the biggest genre franchises to have ever graced the big screen.
However, the actor, who plays Dr Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the most recent big screen reboot of the Star Trek franchise, said he’s very excited about his trip back to television; Urban is all set to play the lead role in Amazon Studios’ straight-to-series superhero drama The Boys.
“The show’s rather adult in nature but I think it’s going to be fun and edgy. It’s set in a world where superheroes exist but they are all very debauched and corrupt, and the idea of superheroes being good and altruistic is pretty much the last thing on their minds. I play a character who brings together a group of humans — no superpowers — and they work towards keeping the superheroes in line and bringing them down when necessary,” said Urban.
The Boys is an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name, written and created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, which ran from 2006 to 2012. Urban will play Billy Butcher, a twisted and complex character with shadowy motives. Serving as both the creator and showrunner of the series is Supernatural creator Eric Kripke. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg will direct.
“I really like the idea that it’s about a group of people who have no powers who are trying to bring down the elite. I know we all live in a world where we are in awe of superheroes, but really, if you think about it, no one’s going to fly in and save the day for us. No one’s going to swoop in and miraculously fix our oceans and pollution and issues. At the end of the day, it is our responsibility to save ourselves. And that’s the idea that drew me to this story,” the actor said.
Urban’s no stranger to the world of comic books, of course. The actor last played the role of Skurge in 2017’s Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Thor: Ragnarok to critical acclaim. He also starred as lead character Judge Dredd in the cult comic book adaptation, Dredd (2012).
But when quizzed about his favourite role, he picked Bones. “If I had to do just one character for the rest of my life with one group of people, it would be my Star Trek role, because we have so much fun with it and we laugh a lot, and that’s a good thing in life.”
A premiere date for The Boys has not yet been set.
