Jason Mantzoukas says playing Rex Splode is a dream come true

• Jason has been a fan of the comic book long before it was shopped to TV.
• The show follows Mark Grayson as he adjusts to his newly awakened superpowers.

Jason Mantzoukas is a huge fan of Robert Kirkman’s hit comic book Invincible, so joining the voice cast of Prime Video’s animated series is a dream come true for him.

During an exclusive interview with Maggie Lovitt for Star Trek: Prodigy, in which Mantzoukas plays Jankom Pog, the actor discussed being a fan of Invincible long before it was shopped as a TV show and what to expect from Season 2.

Invincible, written by Kirkman and illustrated by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley, follows the adventures of Mark Grayson as he adjusts to his newly awakened superpowers.

Mark is expected to be unbeatable as the son of Earth’s mightiest defender, Omni-Man, but his path to becoming a hero is filled with blood, guts, and tears.

The comic book series is raw, gritty, and ultraviolet, which piqued readers’ interest right away. Kirkman, on the other hand, provides more than just violence in the pages of Invincible, as the series arguably tells the best “evil Superman” story ever conceived.

The animated adaptation of Invincible debuted on Prime Video last year and quickly became one of the streaming platform’s biggest hits.

So, naturally, we’re looking forward to seeing how Invincible’s creative team handles the next comic book arcs, especially since Prime Video has already renewed the series through Season 3.

Unfortunately, there has been little information about Season 2 of Invincible, and all we know is that the voice cast has been recording episodes since last April.

So, when we met with Mantzoukas, we tried to elicit some plot details from him. Unfortunately, Mantzoukas told us that he “can tease nothing except that it will be incredible, period.”

While we don’t yet know which stories will be told in Season 2 of Invincible, Mantzoukas told us that working on the show is a dream come true. Mantzoukas plays Rex Splode, a young hero with a short fuse, in the show.

When Earth’s mightiest heroes die in a gruesome manner, forcing a younger generation to step up, Rex Splode becomes more responsible in the series. Mantzoukas, a long-time fan of Kirkman’s work, is overjoyed to be working on Invincible. As he explains:

“I’m a lifelong comics fan. And so I’m somebody who read ‘Invincible’ from the early days it started coming out until it ended, whatever, 15 years later. This is a book that I digested over the course of 15 years. And this story is so familiar to me, and I love it. And when Robert asked me to do the [TV] series, I reread the whole [comic book] series again and loved it even more. [There was] so much that I’d forgotten, so many side tangents and plot lines that I had forgotten about. And what I’m loving about the [TV] series is what they’re choosing to include, where they’re choosing to have us go on this massive journey that exists that I understand where it could go. But I’m delighted with what stories Robert is interested in telling inside of the ‘Invincible’ world. I think this is going to be a truly iconic show.”

Working with something you enjoy is the dream. In the case of Mantzoukas, something similar occurs with Star Trek: Prodigy. “As a Star Trek fan, it’s incredible to be in a Star Trek show,” Mantzoukas says.

Nonetheless, his enthusiasm for the Invincible comic book is out of this world. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s absolutely bananas and exciting [to work with Star Trek],” the actor says. But the idea of me playing Rex Splode is insane. Again, I read about this character for over a decade. It’s pretty cool that I get to be that voice.”

Steven Yeun as the titular hero and J.K Simmons as Omni-Man lend their voices to Invincible. Invincible’s voice cast also includes Sandra Oh, Seth Rogen, Mark Hamill, and Mahershala Ali.

Also Read

‘Copenhagen Cowboy’ trailer explores Danish’s Underworld

The teaser for Netflix series, Copenhagen Cowboy is out. Story revolves around...