Clancy Brown is no strangers to playing villains, doing voiceover work or starring in superhero media, with his tenure as Lex Luthor in the DC Animated Universe encompassing all three. However, nothing is in place for Brown to return as the voice of Surtur in Thor: Love and Thunder just yet.
Brown noted that, while voicing Surtur for Thor Ragnorak was enjoyable, it lacked much depth character-wise, according to Comicbook.com. "That was a voiceover character pretty much," the actor explained. "So, I mean, I would happily do it again, because it would be a mo-cap, and that would be fun, and a voice, but they didn't sign me up for any multi-picture deal or anything like that."
"If they call me up, and we can reach a deal, then I'll do it," Brown continued. "If they call me up, and they don't want to pay me, then I won't. I mean, it's not that big a deal. It's not a real character to me anyway, Surtur."
Surtur only appears briefly in Thor: Ragnorak, but his character still proves essential to the film's story. Seeking explanations about Odin’s disappearance, Thor travels to the fire demon's realm for answers and learns that Ragnorak -- the Norse apocalypse -- is fast approaching, so he defeats the fire demon and takes his crown (i.e. Surtur's head) to prevent that from happening. However, during the film's climax, Thor has Loki place the crown in Asgard's Eternal Flame, reviving Surtur and allowing the demon to kill Hela by successfully destroying their entire realm.
Amongst superhero fans, Brown is best known as the definitive Lex Luthor thanks to his tenure on Superman: The Animated Series, a role he would reprise in Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, The Batman, multiple Lego DC video games and the animated movie Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Some of his other notable DC and Marvel animated roles include Mr. Freeze in The Batman, Captain George Stacy and Rhino in Spectacular Spider-Man and Taskmaster in Ultimate Spider-Man. Brown has also made a few live-action superhero show appearances, including General Wade Eiling on The Flash and Major Schoonover on Daredevil and The Punisher.
Directed by Taika Waititi, Thor: Love and Thunder stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. The film arrives in theaters Feb. 11, 2022.