Robert Kirkman steps into our video studio at San Diego Comic Con 2024.
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00:00You can expect season three very soon,
00:02and very, very soon, we'll be telling you when,
00:08but that time is not right now.
00:10Why am I here doing this interview?
00:12♪♪
00:17Tremble before my unlimited power!
00:24No.
00:25Robert, welcome to the studio here at Comic-Con.
00:28How many Comic-Cons have you been to at this point?
00:30I don't know.
00:31I'm going to say over 15.
00:33Fifteen.
00:34Possibly 17.
00:36I'm very old.
00:37Okay.
00:38My third, so you've beaten me by a...
00:39Yeah, you're a Comic-Con baby.
00:41I can't even...
00:42Exactly.
00:42I can't even interact with you.
00:43The things I know dwarf your experience.
00:45I feel the wisdom, kind of, from all the way over here.
00:47I guess...
00:49Drink a lot of water.
00:51We're here to talk about season three of Invincible
00:53that you guys are here for.
00:55How is the season going?
00:56I think that's probably the main question
00:58everyone's wondering.
00:59It's going great.
01:00Season three's going great.
01:02It's very far along,
01:04but it still won't be out for a little bit.
01:08Is there, I mean, everyone's wondering,
01:10is there, kind of, next year, like a season
01:13or a time of year people should, kind of,
01:15be on the lookout for Seth or DVRs and all that?
01:18I think the window is in the future.
01:22Gotcha.
01:22I would say that there's a period of time
01:24that existed between season one and season two,
01:28and that period of time was very long and grueling,
01:32and it made a lot of people unhappy.
01:35The period of time between season two and season three
01:37is much shorter.
01:39How much shorter?
01:41I'm not allowed to say.
01:43And as frustrated as you are right now, I'm more so.
01:47So you can expect season three very soon,
01:51and very, very soon, we'll be telling you when,
01:56but that time is not right now.
01:59Why am I here doing this interview?
02:01No frustration from me.
02:02I totally get it.
02:06Let's see.
02:06So we'll hold this part.
02:07So everything that we're going to talk about now,
02:09we'll hold it, after your panel, of course.
02:12So season four has been renewed,
02:13and, kind of, been announced.
02:16Is that, I guess, where do you see season four
02:17in the grand, kind of, scheme of Invincible?
02:19Kind of, near the end, the penultimate,
02:22where does it fit in the lifespan?
02:24Near the end, near the penultimate?
02:26No, no, not at all.
02:27Season four, I mean, I don't know.
02:29I feel like we're just getting started.
02:31I mean, I'm very hopeful that this will be a show
02:33that can be around for a while.
02:35I think that with season four,
02:38we're really hitting our stride.
02:39I think there's some really exciting stuff
02:40coming up in season four.
02:42I think season three is going to blow people away.
02:44It's so weird to have so many seasons in production
02:47and not be able to talk about them.
02:49It's very stressful.
02:50Do you see this?
02:51Do you see how much I'm aging before your eyes?
02:54But, I mean, when you see season three,
02:58Invincible is a show that builds.
03:00I think you can see that season two was an advancement
03:04of a lot of things that were introduced in season one.
03:06The stakes were higher, things got a little crazier,
03:10and there were a lot of pieces moving
03:11that were hinting at a lot of bigger stories.
03:14Those bigger stories really start crashing down
03:16in season three, but season four dwarfs season three
03:20in a lot of really crazy ways.
03:21It's an escalating show where each season
03:24is going to be bigger, crazier, more intense,
03:27and that stuff really kind of kicks off with season three.
03:31Okay.
03:32And then since you're also announcing at the panel
03:34a new blue suit mark, a new design from the comics,
03:39where did that idea come from to kind of change up
03:40what the comic book blue and black suit look like?
03:42Yeah, I mean, Invincible is really kind of commenting
03:46on the tropes of superhero stories
03:50that have been around for decades,
03:50and the new costume is something
03:53that has always been something that is used
03:55to energize a series or be an exciting act break in a movie
04:01or do something to put a fresh coat of paint on things
04:04to make things more exciting.
04:06And so going into the third season,
04:08it seemed like a good time to bring a new mark
04:11to the forefront.
04:12After everything that he's been through in season two,
04:14he's in a different headspace,
04:16and that gets kind of reflected in his costume.
04:20And anyone who's read the comic book series knows
04:22that the blue suit era of Invincible is the darkest
04:26and most intense, and that there is a lot of really big
04:31things to get excited about that are around that blue suit.
04:34It's almost like the black suit Spider-Man, essentially.
04:37I think it's cooler.
04:39I'm a little offended at the mention and the comparison,
04:42but I'll allow it.
04:44Was the new design something you had
04:48kind of in your back pocket?
04:49Was it something that the show's artists
04:51and kind of drew up just for this season?
04:53It was something that Cory Walker,
04:55the co-creator of Invincible,
04:57collaborated with Sean O'Neill and Do Hong
05:00and the design team on the show to, you know,
05:04kind of take what we did in the comics
05:06and, you know, enhance it a little bit for the show.
05:09So there's some subtle differences
05:11that comic book fans will notice
05:13that give it a little bit more,
05:15I'm gonna use the word panache,
05:17but it is very much the traditional suit
05:20that everybody knows and loves.
05:22New suit, new mark.
05:24When you were talking with Steven
05:25about portraying this new mark for this season,
05:27what was the idea behind it,
05:29the direction you kind of gave him?
05:30Is his voice changing at all?
05:32How did he feel about everything?
05:34Steven is, you know, one of the best actors working now.
05:38I think everybody knows.
05:39I think the guy has more, you know,
05:42Emmy and Oscar nominations
05:44than any other actor I know personally, I'll be honest.
05:49But, you know, he has amazing range,
05:53but everything that he's able to do is so subtle
05:57that it's just, it's staggering to see how he's able to do,
06:01you know, what he's able to do just with his voice.
06:03And so it's just, you can see,
06:06there's a maturing process that's going on every season.
06:10If you watch a snippet of a scene from season three
06:13and you then cut it next to a snippet of a scene
06:16from season one, like, you know that's Mark.
06:19And when you're watching the show,
06:21you may not be paying attention to anything,
06:22but he is controlling things to a point
06:25where the aging process is really kind of amazing.
06:30And there's big differences.
06:32And yeah, it's just, you know,
06:35really weird that he's able to do that.
06:37It's super impressive.
06:39Speaking of Steven and costumes, I was reading,
06:42you saw his century costume for Thunderbolts.
06:44Not really.
06:47But I was, did he, did he get back to you?
06:49Cause he's not.
06:50He, he, he, he, he mentioned it to me.
06:51He didn't, he didn't show it to me.
06:52I don't want to get him in more trouble.
06:54Why are we talking about this?
06:56Oh God, Kevin Feige.
06:57Oh God.
06:58Oh God.
06:59We'll move on from, from Thunderbolts.
07:01Listen, can I apologize for that?
07:03I'm really sorry.
07:04I, I had seen a thousand articles
07:06talking about Steven being century
07:08and he had mentioned it to me.
07:10And so I thought it was public, but it was just speculation.
07:14I was off my game.
07:15I regret it tremendously.
07:19Wasn't something I wanted to do.
07:21And, and, and in the quote, I was, I was just,
07:24I was worried that revealing that the suit was yellow
07:27would get me in trouble.
07:28I thought that the news of him being the century
07:31was already far and wide.
07:33And so I was like, oh, can I say it's yellow?
07:36It'll be fine if I say it's yellow.
07:38And then it was the worst,
07:40it was the worst 24 hours I've had in a long time.
07:42Sorry.
07:43I'm sure he's forgiven you.
07:44I'm sure Feige is okay with everything.
07:45Don't expect me to be writing
07:47or in any way involved in any Marvel movies
07:49at any point in my life.
07:53Well, now, okay, well, and now I gotta ask that one,
07:55but Marvel Zombies is coming out.
07:57I'm directing that.
07:59How, have you seen anything from it?
08:01I mean, your designs were used
08:03and kind of the idea where it was used in What If.
08:05Why would they show me anything
08:07after what I did with the Steven Yeun and Century situation?
08:10Do you think they're friendly with me at all?
08:13No, no.
08:15I'm very excited for it.
08:16I think it's gonna be cool.
08:18Sean Phillips and I had a great time on that comic.
08:21And as far as I know, I think they're, you know,
08:23using some aspects of that comic in the show,
08:25but, you know, Marvel's got a great team working on that.
08:28And when it's on Disney Plus,
08:29I'll definitely be watching it.
08:31But, you know, my focus is on Invincible
08:33and, you know, some of that Walking Dead stuff
08:35and all the cool comics that I do.
08:37Absolutely.
08:38Speaking of the cool comics that you do,
08:40I just started reading the Energon universe
08:41and kind of catching up on Void Rivals and Duke
08:44and Cobra Commander, all that kind of stuff.
08:46They are doing a Transformers G.I. Joe crossover movie
08:50in the future. Indeed.
08:51Have they reached out to you about that?
08:52Maybe Paramount is cooler than Marvel right now?
08:56Listen, I email Lorenzo to Bonaventura from time to time,
08:58just trying to, you know, get early looks at Transformers 1
09:02or get some kind of information I can accidentally leak.
09:07But no, no, I'm not involved in the film stuff at all.
09:11You know, I think that the Energon universe stuff
09:14is very labor intensive and our focus is making sure
09:17that those comics are cohesive
09:19and that we're building this new universe
09:20in like a really cool way.
09:21So in that world, Transformers and G.I. Joe,
09:25that is my focus.
09:26Okay, so separate, the movies and then the comics kind of.
09:29Yeah, but I'll be there on opening day.
09:32Amazon is having such a huge presence.
09:34I was just at the boys panel at the Lord of the Rings panel
09:37and then the upcoming one that you're at as well.
09:39It just seems like the boys in Invincible
09:41would be such a good team up
09:42and you guys have already kind of.
09:43Yeah, it would.
09:47I don't know, do you want to finish that question?
09:49Are there any, have you talked to the,
09:51or Kripke, have you talked to anyone of the boys to do,
09:52I mean, you got Spider-Man and Batman.
09:54Kripke and I have arm wrestled over Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
09:59Possible he won.
10:02But, and Seth and Evan and I talk about stuff
10:05from time to time and there have been some,
10:08you know, been some chats,
10:11but there's nothing planned,
10:13but it does seem like a fun thing if the world,
10:16I mean, you got to see Homelander and Omni-Man
10:18fighting in Mortal Kombat 1.
10:20I think that was really cool.
10:21I think that's something that people
10:23would be really interested in
10:24and maybe someday we do something exciting,
10:26but there's no plans as of yet.
10:28But we do love the boys and they love Invincible
10:30and we're all part of the Prime Video family,
10:33so who knows?
10:34I will, those chats sound exciting,
10:36so I'll keep my fingers crossed on that.
10:39Everyone dies in season five,
10:41so we got to do it before season five ends.
10:42I'm kidding, I don't even know.
10:44Exactly, I mean, yeah, they're coming to an end,
10:45so you guys got to make it happen.
10:48I mean, one of the great things about Invincible
10:49is all the needle drops and all the songs.
10:52Are there any songs that you're listening to right now
10:54that you really kind of want to put into season three?
10:57Well, I mean, I can't reveal that.
10:59That would be, there are.
11:03There's one that I'm really excited about
11:05that we're working on,
11:06but no, I can't get into any specifics there.
11:11I don't know.
11:15Let's see, for season three, Mark has the new suit.
11:19Anyone else getting new suits?
11:21Any new kind of redesigns for anyone else?
11:24There's some updates here and there.
11:26There's obviously going to be some new characters.
11:29It's an evolving show,
11:31so there's a lot of change happening.
11:33But yeah, you can expect to see some different looks
11:35for various things.
11:36Okay.
11:37Is it, in terms of new characters from the comics
11:41versus returning characters,
11:42I mean, is it kind of the same core cast,
11:44or is there a lot of big new players
11:46that people should be on the lookout for?
11:47I've talked about it before,
11:49but there's some characters that were in season one
11:51that weren't in season two,
11:53Titan and Machine Head,
11:54who will definitely be back for season three.
11:57So that's already been out there,
11:58and we're really excited about that.
12:00And there's some surprises along the way.
12:02So I think comic book fans that have read the full series,
12:07there's definitely their favorites out there,
12:09and there's some that they're constantly,
12:11oh, when's this character going to appear?
12:12When's this character going to appear?
12:15There's a couple of those big ones
12:16showing up in season three
12:17that people can get excited about.
12:20Are there any volumes of the Invincible compendium
12:24that people should really reread before season three?
12:27That's a good question.
12:28And I see what you're trying to do there,
12:30but that would definitely reveal too much.
12:32So I'm not going to answer it.
12:34And honestly, shame on you.
12:37I tried my best.
12:38Okay.
12:40Last time we talked for the finale,
12:42we talked about the cameos
12:43that were in the season two finale,
12:45the Spider-Man, the Batman.
12:47I don't know who you're talking about.
12:48That was Agent Spider.
12:49Agent Spider.
12:50And Batman?
12:51Where was he?
12:52I didn't see Batman.
12:52Off camera, off camera.
12:54I don't know who you're talking about.
12:55Have you heard from,
12:56when we talked, you hadn't heard from Marvel or DC.
12:57You didn't ask for permission to use them.
13:00You didn't ask for permission.
13:00It had nothing to do with them.
13:01What are you talking about?
13:02It's not those characters.
13:04I don't understand this question.
13:05No cease and desist.
13:06No kind of, no phone calls from Feige,
13:09anyone, James Gunn or anything.
13:11No, no, definitely not.
13:12Okay.
13:14What other image comics are you kind of,
13:16would love to see adapted?
13:18I mean, the library is so big.
13:20Yeah, I mean, the big one is Saga.
13:21That's a hard one to crack,
13:23but I think that that would be
13:25just an absolutely legendary adaptation
13:27that would really kind of, you know,
13:28revolutionize like, you know,
13:30whether it was animation or live action or whatever,
13:32like it would just, that would be a big deal.
13:35I'm really excited about Prime Video's adaptation
13:37of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' Criminal.
13:40I think that that is gonna be a huge hit
13:43and the cast is spectacular.
13:46There's some people that haven't been announced yet,
13:48but yeah, I think, you know,
13:52there's a lot of great books.
13:55I think that, you know, Black Science
13:56would be a really cool show or movie.
14:00You know, there's a lot of cool stuff out there.
14:03All great ones.
14:04I've read all of them.
14:04Saga, I mean, I think it's on top of everyone's list
14:06for like that needs an adaptation.
14:09I would love to see that.
14:10Come on, Brian, stop saying no.
14:14Let's see.
14:15I know last time we talked as well
14:16for the season two finale,
14:17you said you had cast either Thrag or Conquest
14:20for this new season, season three.
14:24Are those voice actors,
14:25they're coming with the date announcement?
14:26I mean, where's the process at and kind of?
14:29I'm sorry, what's the premise of this question?
14:31I haven't said-
14:32Trying to find out who-
14:32Thrag or Conquest.
14:33When would this have been said?
14:35If there's been any movement on,
14:37if there's anyone cast in the other role.
14:39You said there was one actor was cast as one of them.
14:42Did I?
14:45That was inaccurate, I'm sorry.
14:46We haven't cast those characters at all yet.
14:48Okay.
14:49Those are season five or six characters.
14:50Okay, so, okay, okay.
14:51Good to know.
14:52Hopefully we get that far.
14:53Okay.
14:55Let me just double check everything.
14:57Kind of our last question that we're asking everyone
14:59before we wrap up.
15:00What is on your watch list?
15:02What's on my watch list?
15:03Yeah.
15:04Laurie, I'm always bad at this.
15:06I can't think, like, what did I watch yesterday?
15:09Let's see here.
15:10I saw Wolverine Deadpool, but TV shows, TV shows.
15:13I mean, I just wrapped up The Boys, season four.
15:16That was really cool.
15:18You know, I've been watching House of the Dragon.
15:23That's a fun show.
15:25You know, anything that's got dragons fighting.
15:26That's exciting.
15:31Why am I blanking?
15:33Can someone tell me?
15:34Like, I watch TV shows all the time.
15:36This is embarrassing.
15:38I don't know.
15:39I don't know.
15:40I just started re-watching Kidding with my son,
15:43the Showtime show with Jim Carrey.
15:45It's only two seasons.
15:46It's one of the greatest television shows ever made.
15:48So he's 18 now, so I'm showing him things
15:53that are somewhat awkward when we watch them together.
15:56But, you know, but yeah.
15:59Does your son, he watches Invincible?
16:01He's kind of at the right age for that?
16:03Invincible is the first thing I've ever done
16:05that my children actually enjoy.
16:07They're 18 and 15 now, and they ask about the show,
16:11and I let them watch episodes early, often,
16:15and I'll show them little snippets,
16:17and I'll show them, you know, some actors come in
16:19and do voice lines.
16:19I'll be like, look at this actor we got.
16:21This is crazy.
16:22They're friends, so something's gonna leak.
16:25It'll be them, but anyway, it's insane
16:29because my kids, they kind of have my personality.
16:33Sometimes they do things, and I go,
16:35oh, that's why nobody likes me,
16:37and so before, they'd just be like,
16:40Walking Dead's trash, not good, don't like it,
16:44and they'd just be messing with me,
16:45and I'd be like, ah, it's okay, yeah, that's fine,
16:47you know, because we, I don't know.
16:49It's a weird family.
16:50It's a weird family.
16:51But Invincible, they're like, we really like it.
16:53All our friends in school like it.
16:55It's a cool show, so it's the first time
16:57that I felt like they loved me.
17:00I'm glad the show's giving you that.
17:02Thank you so much, Robert.
17:03I am too, because I really needed it.
17:05I'm glad the show's giving you that.