CREATOR EXCLUSIVE
Robert Kirkman reveals what’s next for 18-rated animated series Invincible
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST WTF moment that fledgling superhero Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun) experienced by the first season finale of Invincible? No question, it was finding out that his dad Nolan – the omnipotent superhero Omni-Man (JK Simmons) – is actually a first-wave alien agent for the barbaric Viltrum Empire. And, yes, that majorly sucks for Mark, and for Earth, as they collectively watched Omni-Man fly off into space and disappear.
The long-awaited “what happens next” for Grayson in Prime Video’s animated adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s Image comic is finally here, after an 18-month production delay. Kirkman promises Red Alert that it will have been worth the wait.
“We dive in right from where season one left off,” Kirkman says, referring to the emotional fallout of Nolan’s betrayal of Mark and his wife, Debbie (Sandra Oh) – but also of Earth. “Nolan was the strongest superhero on Earth and was the last line of defence if something really bad happened, so he was absolutely essential to the functioning of Earth in this crazy superhero universe.”
At the end of season one, Mark was warned by Allen the Alien (Seth Rogen) that the Viltrumites are out there in the universe, and they’ll be coming for Earth. He then teased that the Coalition of Planets might be their saving grace. Kirkman confirms the Coalition will be a “huge part” of season two and beyond.
“It’s something that we’re going to get to see. There’s a glimpse of Thaedus, the leader of the Coalition of Planets, in our teaser trailer, and I’m super-excited that Peter Cullen is playing him,” Kirkman says, clearly delighted to have coaxed the Optimus Prime voice actor to Invincible. “Being able to work with an absolute legend is great. If you want a sense of authority in the galaxy, you can’t do better.”
The Coalition and its representation of many alien species will broaden Mark’s world, with an array of new characters. One of them is the portal-hopping bad guy, Angstrom Levy. “Sterling K Brown was a big one, because I couldn’t conceive of anyone else being Levy,” Kirkman says of luring the actor.
“Then we happened to be working on the Renfield movie when we started casting season two, and from the minute I met Ben Schwartz, I was like, ‘Would he play Shapesmith? Can we make that happen?’” Turns out they did, as Schwartz will voice the Martian who disguises himself as human astronaut Rus Livingston. Other new additions include undisclosed characters voiced by Chloe Bennet,
