by Jeremy Kazieva,
Invincible has become a huge hit on Prime Video, with the animated series adapting Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley’s beloved Image Comics series of the same name. One of the breakout pieces of Invincible‘s television blueprint has been J.K. Simmons’s performance as Nolan Grayson / Omni-Man, which has even spun into an appearance in the Mortal Kombat video game. With a live-action Invincible movie also in the works now, some fans have been wondering if Simmons could reprise his role for the character, something he is not on board with. In a recent interview with ComicBook.com to promote Season 2 Part 2 of Invincible, Simmons argued that he should not portray Omni-Man in live-action, and suggested two major Marvel stars as the potential options.
“Absolutely not,” Simmons revealed. “I don’t think Omni Man should be played by a 69-year-old. I mean, again, as far as I know, it’s only rumors. It’s only rumblings that a live-action film would even happen. But maybe there’s a cameo for me as the leader of the Viltrumites in a flashback or something. I always come up with a good answer 20 minutes after we get off the phone. Yeah, I don’t know. I mean, the first two guys I’m thinking of are Ryan Reynolds and… I mean, you’re thinking of the buff guy… Here’s who needs to play Omni Man… Hugh Jackman.”
A live-action Invincible movie has been quietly in the works at Universal, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg attached as writers and directors. In 2023, Kirkman told ComicBook.com that the Invincible movie continues to be worked on, even with the success of the animated series.
“We’re very much still working on that,” Kirkman revealed. “Sometimes movies take a little bit longer. I think it’s safe to say, if anything, the show has just helped that immensely. People are very excited about that movie potential at Universal. So we’re riding that excitement and trying to push things forward as quickly as possible.” Invincible is an adult animated superhero series that revolves around 17-year-old Mark Grayson, who’s just like every other guy his age — except his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet, Omni-Man. But as Mark develops powers of his own, he discovers his father’s legacy may not be as heroic as it seems.”
Invincible stars Steven Yeun as Mark Grayson, J.K. Simmons as Omni-Man, Sandra’s Oh as Debbie Grayson, Zazie Beetz as Amber Bennett, Grey Griffin as Shrinking Rae and Monster Girl, Kevin Michael Richardson as the Mauler Twins, Walton Goggin as Cecil Stedman, Gillian Jacobs as Atom Eve, Zachary Quinto as Robot, Jason Mantzoukas as Rex Sloan/Rex Splode and Seth Rogen as Allen the Alien. New additions to the cast will include Chloe Bennet, Rob Delaney, Paul F. Tompkins, Peter Cullen, Tim Robinson, Tatiana Maslany, Sterling K. Brown, Phil Lamarr, Lea Thompson, Jay Pharoah and Calista Flockhart.