With his Walking Dead universe is currently going strong with three different shows, even with the flagship series destined to end in 2022, Robert Kirkman will soonishly branch out with another high-profile TV series based on his excellent comic book series Invincible. Not only did the adult-animation project reunite Kirkman with former Walking Dead star Steven Yeun as the teen superhero Mark Grayson, but the cast features a host of other TWD vets, as well as Mark Hamill, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh and more. And now we can celebrate The Flash's Ezra Miller joining future Blade lead Mahershala Ali and six other actors for Invincible's first season.
Invincible, which Robert Kirkman crafted with Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, follows Steven Yeun's Mark as he comes to terms with his superhero legacy as the son of Earth's most powerful superhero, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons). Of course, as Mark hones his powers and learns more about superhero life, he faces many complications that threaten his familial relationships. Without getting into too many details, let's take a look at all the new actors that have been added to Invincible's cast, which also includes Seth Rogen, Mae Whitman, Walton Goggins, Jason Mantzoukas, Zazie Beetz, Gillian Jacobs, Kevin Michael Richardson, Andrew Rannells, and more.
Mahershala Ali (Titan)
Having already played the villainous Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes for Netflix' and Marvel's Luke Cage, Mahershala Ali is gearing up to become more heroic for the MCU's Blade reboot. (Not to mention he'd also voiced The Prowler for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.) For Invincible, Ali will be portraying the pompous and over-confident mostly-villain Titan, whose claim to fame is the power to encase himself in rock. Don't expect him to be a big bad, though.
Clancy Brown (Damien Darkblood)
Clancy Brown has been winning over genre audiences since first popping up in Buckaroo Banzai and Highlander, and he's been in a slew of superhero TV shows over the years. He appeared in The Flash and both Daredevil and The Punisher for live-action, and has voiced Lex Luthor, Mr. Freeze, Bane, Rhino, Mister Sinister, General Zartok, Red Hulk, and many more characters in a wide variety of animated TV shows and direct-to-video features. For Invincible, Brown will voice the demon detective Damien Darkblood, who comes up from Hell every so often to investigate superhero-related matters.
Nicole Byer (Vanessa & Fiona)
Comedian Nicole Byer is perhaps best known as the host of Netflix's hilarious cooking competition Nailed It, but she's also a podcast queen and has appeared in a ton of different shows and movies in recent years. From Bad Hair to Brooklyn Nine-Nine to A Black Lady Sketch Show to The Unicorn, Byer covers the comedy gamut, and she'll presumably be just as hilarious when she shows up in Invincible as the characters Vanessa and Fiona.
Jeffrey Donovan (Machine Head)
Jeffrey Donovan has headed up various TV series in the past 15 years, from Burn Notice to Fargo to Shut Eye, and has also boosted his filmography with movies such as both Sicario flicks, Lucy in the Sky, and the upcoming Guy Ritchie actioner Wrath of Man. On the comic book front, Donovan voiced Steve Trevor for 2019's animated DC movie Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, but he'll be flipping to the villainous side for Invincible, in which he'll play Machine Head, the super-strong and logic-minded crime boss who rocks a robotic head.
Jonathan Groff (Rick Sheridan)
Only time will tell if Jonathan Groff ends up returning to Netflix for Mindhunter Season 3, but the Hamilton and Glee vet will be lending his celebrated voice to Invincible as a character that sadly probably won't have any singing scenes. (Yes, Groff also voiced Kristoff in all things Frozen.) He'll be voicing Rick Sheridan, a schoolmate of Mark's who was turned into a cyborg. Interestingly, Rick is one of two gay characters within Invincible, so it's a good sign that the producers found a proper actor to fit the bill.
Jon Hamm (Steve)
Jon Hamm is seemingly one of the only actors left in Hollywood that has yet to take on some kind of a major superhero comic book role, although I guess one could count him being the narrator for the Marvel series Legion. On top of being seen in Top Gun: Maverick and Steven Soderbergh's HBO Max crime drama No Sudden Move, Hamm will be playing "Steve" in Invincible. No further details were given, but it's possible this Steve is Steven Erickson, a villain within the Global Defense Angecy, though that's not confirmed.
Djimon Hounsou (Martian Emperor)
When it comes to comic book projects, Djimon Hounsou is definitely no slouch. He's portrayed Korath the Pursuer in Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, and the upcoming Disney+ animated series What If...?, and also appeared in the DC films Aquaman and Shazam! When he pops up in Invincible, Hounsou will be voicing the role of Martian Emperor, though it's not quite clear just yet if that is the Martian Man of the comic book, who was a member of the Guardians of the Globe, which would be a fun soundalike connection to his MCU role.
Ezra Miller (D.A. Sinclair)
Fans have been waiting ages to see Ezra Miller capitalize on his DC role as Barry Allen for The Flash, especially after he popped up in the Arrowverse's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover. He'll be seen soon enough for the Justice League Snyder Cut release on HBO Max, and he'll play a different kind of protagonist for Invincible, where he'll voice the hermitic Upstate University scientist D.A. Sinclair, who created a group of robotic zombies called the Reainimen. And yes, maybe he had something to do with Rick Sinclair's roboticized transition.
The eight-episode first season of Invincible will debut on Amazon Prime Video in 2021, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more information as it becomes available. In the meantime, head to our Fall 2020 TV premiere schedule and our Winter and Spring 2021 TV rundown to see what new and returning shows are on the way in the near future.
