Peter Cullen’s role in Invincible season 2 made the comic’s creator cry

The first trailer for season 2 of Amazon’s animated series Invincible came with a grabby surprise for fans: a splash page of the many actors who will join the voice cast, including the Sonic movies’ Ben Schwartz, If You Think That You Should Go, I Would Leave star Tim Robinson, Back to the Future’s Lea Thompson, Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany, Black Panther’s Sterling K. Brown, Avatar : The Way of Water’s Cliff Curtis, voice-over industry vets Phil LaMarr, Paul F. Tompkins, and Rob Delaney, and many more. Peter Cullen is a legend in the animation industry, best known for his role as Optimus Prime, Autobot leader, since 1984.

Robert Kirkman is the creator of The Avengers. Invincible Comics and the Walking DeadCullen was the first comic book character he ever read, and it brought him back to his childhood. He describes working directly with Cullen as an exciting challenge. When I spoke to Kirkman via Zoom about what to expect in season 2 (more of that to come), a prominent poster for 1986’s The Transformers: The MovieJust behind him, a wall was visible.

“Working with Peter Cullen was a huge test for my professionalism,” Kirkman says. “Just flat-out, every fiber of my being was screaming, Don’t ask him about Optimus Prime. Don’t talk about Optimus Prime. What do you want to say? Come on, be professional.

Image: De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

Kirkman says that “thankfully,” the voice sessions for seasons 2 and 3 were recorded via Zoom. He and series writer-producer Simon Racioppa could sit in to observe, but they kept their cameras off and stayed quiet “to keep everything focused” between the director and actor.

That didn’t entirely keep Kirkman and Racioppa from interacting with their voice talent. “If we had some kind of specific note — or, you know, if I wanted to crack a joke with Jason Mantzoukas [who plays Invincible series regular Rex Splode] — we could pop in and be annoying,” Kirkman says. “But for the most part, we would be on a text thread while the voice director was working with the actor, after introductions and things like that.

“And that was a godsend, because — you know, to say there were tears is embarrassing, but whatever, I’ll say it. Optimus prime, big part in my life. I’ve been hearing Peter Cullen’s voice since I was like 7 years old. So to have him voicing the character he voices — it’s crazy to have written dialogue that’s coming out of his mouth. It’s really something else.”

Amazon hasn’t yet released a rundown of what roles the new cast members will be playing in InvincibleSeasons 2 and 3 were recorded in parallel. But from that first trailer, fans spotted that Cullen will voice Thaedus, leader of the Coalition of Planets, a key player in the war against the show’s superpowered conquering species, the Viltrumites. (Don’t follow that link unless you want spoilers; we know a lot about Thaedus from Kirkman’s InvincibleComics are the basis for this Amazon show, and it follows them fairly faithfully. But it isn’t yet clear how much of his background might be a secret, or how it might surface throughout season 2.)

Image: Prime Video via YouTube

Kirkman claims he has never written an article. Invincible character with Cullen or any other actor in mind — and that he’s grateful he doesn’t hear any particular voices in his head when he’s writing. “That’s a real blessing for me,” he says. “When I’m writing the comics, I guess I’m hearing You may also likeVoice, or some type of amorphous one. Maybe I’d be a better writer if I was casting voices and writing to the voices. The game was fun. Walking Dead, because I was still writing the comic when the show happened, so I would start hearing the actors’ voices when I was writing a comic. Andrew Lincoln is Rick Grimes, so when I was writing Rick Grimes, I would hear Andrew Lincoln’s voice.

“But with InvincibleWhen we finally got around to watching the show, it was already over. Writing the early scripts, I knew I wanted to cast Steven Yeun, but I hadn’t yet heard him as Invincible. Sometimes, particularly when writing seasons 2 and 3, I would be like. Oh, I think we could get this person, that’d be totally great! And I’d consider that, but I still don’t hear their voice when I’m writing.”

Kirkman says that not fan-casting actors for his characters makes it easier to be open-minded about a casting director’s suggestions on a show: “Because you’re not coming in with an expectation. You can accept the suggestions of other people and the casting director. Yes, that’s right, I heard it! You’re not fighting against some benchmark you’ve set in your head that you have to somehow achieve. It’s a much more open process.”

The second half of Invincible’s split season 2 will launch on Nov. 3, with the second half of the season coming in 2024. Polygon will have more from this interview with Kirkman as we get closer to the new season’s release.