Karl Urban has revealed why Skurge decides to side with Cate Blanchett's Goddess of Death, Hela, in Marvel's upcoming Thor: Ragnarok. The film, which will conclude the solo Thor movie trilogy, will bring to life one of the biggest conflicts that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever seen, when Hela arrives on the scene intent on beginning Ragnarok - the end of everything. While the film hasn't necessarily been shy about teasing its characters, Urban's Skurge has remained one of the more interesting and mysterious aspects of Ragnarok, up to this point.

Much to the excitement of longtime Marvel comic book readers, though, Urban's interpretation of Skurge promises to be every bit as powerful and ferocious as the character was in the comics. And apparently, Skurge's initial presence in Ragnarok will be directly associated with the unknown whereabouts of Idris Elba's Heimdall, when the film begins.

Urban revealed as much while recently speaking with IGN at San Diego Comic-Con. When the actor was asked why Skurge decides to side with Blanchett's Hela in the film too, Urban alluded to it all having to do with Skurge's desire to fight with the winning side, after witnessing Hela's power for himself firsthand:

"When we find Skurge, he's operating the Bifrost because Heimdall is missing in action, and then pretty soon after that Hela shows up. Skurge sees the writing on the wall and has to make a decision whether to die or join her, so his instincts of self-preservation take over."

However, while Skurge's allegiance to Hela comes from purely his survival instincts, Urban went on to tease in the interview that his guilt about betraying Thor and uncertainty about which side to fight for is "the [central] dilemma" of the character throughout the film. And as many Marvel comic book readers already know, that's certainly true to Skurge's varying alliances and partnerships in the comics.

In many ways, Marvel appears to be borrowing elements from multiple different comic book storylines, including Planet Hulk, for the story of Thor: Ragnarok, and combining them with a tone and aesthetic that's reminiscent of 1980s John Carpenter genre films. Now, whether or not the studio is able to pull off that tricky balance, in the end, remains a mystery for right now. However, it's already looking more and more like Ragnarok is, at least, getting the character of Skurge right, between the trailer teases so far and the pitch-perfect casting of Urban in the role.

Source: IGN

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