Invincible season 2: everything we know so far

We’re getting closer to an Invincible season 2 announcement. Well, we think we are, anyway, especially as the franchise’s 20th anniversary isn’t too far away.

It’s well over 18 months since the wildly popular animated series – one of the best Prime Video shows, in our opinion – was renewed for two more seasons. Save for a few updates from its cast and crew, we’ve heard nothing about how season 2’s development is going. So it’s high time we heard something official about Invincible’s next outing on Prime Video.

While we wait, you’ve got plenty of catching up to do on the Invincible season 2 news front. Below, we’ve gathered up every scrap of information we can find on the successor to Invincible season 1, including its cast, plot details, potential release date, the show’s future, and more.

Full spoilers follow for Invincible’s first season and the comics it’s based on. Potential spoilers for season 2 follow, too, but we’ll notify you once we reach them if you’re avoiding them pre-release.

Invincible season 2 release date: what we know

Invincible season 2 doesn’t have a launch date yet. It was announced – alongside a third season – in April 2021 and, according to head writer Simon Racioppa, both seasons have been in development for longer than fans think.

“We’ve been working on it [Invincible season 2] for a while,” Racioppa exclusively told TechRadar. “We’re working very hard on it. Basically, every day Robert [Kirkman, Invincible’s co-creator] is working on it, I’m working on it. We’re talking about it, and we are well in on the process. We’ve been working on it longer than I think people are aware, but it takes a while. It’s a big show.”

In April 2022, lead voice actor Steven Yeun was videoed as he started recording his lines for Invincible season 2:

A month earlier, J.K. Simmons, who plays Nolan Grayson/Omni-Man, told DiscussingFilm the cast were entering the recording booth very soon. And it seems that some, if not most, of the series’ voice cast have completed their season 2 work. Speaking to ScreenRant, Khary Payton, who plays Black Sansom, said: “We finished season 2. We’re onto season 3, but its so hard to say right now [when it is coming out].”

In the interim, the official Invincible Twitter account has regularly responded to fans asking when season 2 is being released. The most recent and significant update from those in charge of Invincible’s social media confirmed that seasons 2 and 3 were being developed concurrently:

So when could Invincible season 2 grace our screens? We don’t expect it to debut on Prime Video until early 2023. There’s a lot of work that goes into animated shows so, while season 2’s dialog may be complete, it’s likely that development still has some way to go.

Curiously, January 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of Invincible’s comic books, with the series’ first issue released on January 22, 2003. Could we see an official release date announcement, teaser trailer, or both drop on that date? We’d be amazed if Amazon, Skybound, the the show’s cast and crew don’t celebrate that landmark with something Invincible TV show-related.

Even so, we’d prefer those involved to take their time with Invincible season 2 and its sequel. Make them as good as possible before they’re released and we’ll be more than happy to wait longer for their arrivals.

Invincible season 2 cast

Nothing’s been confirmed yet, but we’d expect the actors named below to return for Invincible season 2:

• Steven Yeun as Mark Grayson/Invincible
• J.K. Simmons as Nolan Grayson/Omni-Man
• Sandra Oh as Debbie Grayson
• Zazie Beetz as Amber Bennett
• Gillian Jacobs as Samantha Eve Wilkins/Atom Eve
• Andrew Rannells as William Clockwell
• Walton Goggins as Cecil Stedman
• Jason Mantzoukas as Rex Sloan/Rex Splode
• Ross Marquand as Rudy Conners, Kursk and Bi-Plane
• Mark Hamill as Art Rosenbaum
• Khary Payton as Markus Grimshaw/Black Samson
• Malese Jow as Kate Cha/Dupli-Kate
• Grey Griffin as Shrinking Rae and Amanda (Monster Girl’s human form)
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Monster Girl/the Mauler Twins
• Seth Rogen as Allen the Alien
• Mahershala Ali as Titan

Zachary Quinto was the voice of Robot in season 1, but it’s unclear if he’ll be needed again. As the first season revealed, Robot was the artificial host body of Rudy Conners, an individual whose genetic defects initially meant he was unable to live outside of his saline tank. 

With Rudy’s consciousness being transferred into his new clone body in episode 7, Ross Marquand has taken over vocal duties for Rudy, so we don’t know if Quinto will return. Robot has a big role to play in the comics, but we’re unsure if those events will be part of Invincible season 2, season 3 or beyond.

Others who may return include Chris Diamantopoulos (Doc Seismic), Fred Tatasciore (Kill Cannon), Clancy Brown (Damien Darkblood), Jeffrey Donovan (Machine Head), Ezra Miller (D.A. Sinclair) and Michael Dorn (Battle Beast and Thokk). Invincible co-creator Robert Kirkman has hinted at some of their returns (more on this below) but we’re unsure who will do so yet.

Kirkman has also expressed interest in seeing more of The Walking Dead’s TV cast appear in future seasons. Yeun, Marquand, Laurie Cohan, Michael Cudlitz, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Lennie James have appeared already, but Kirkman wants more Walking Dead stars to sign on.

Kirkman told ComicBook.com: “I can’t think of an actor on The Walking Dead I wouldn’t want to work with again. It’s an amazing group of actors. Andrew Lincoln, Danai Gurira, Norman Reedus, Melissa McBride, Jeffrey Dean Morgan…there’s not really anyone I wouldn’t want to bring in.”

One actor who definitely wants to return is Chad Coleman, who voiced Martian Man in season 1. Speaking to UK newspaper The Daily Express, Coleman joked that he was desperate to return to the world of Invincible, even though Martian Man died at Omni-Man’s hands early on in the show’s first season.

“It [Invincible] is amazing, obviously,” Coleman said. “Kirkman’s a crazy talented dude, and all the other folks that are involved. I had so much fun and I love the way it looks. I’m just saying ‘Hey man, bring me back for some more.'”

Invincible season 2 plot

Major spoilers follow for Invincible season 1 and the graphic novels.

The comic series is a fun but at-times confusing one. There are many directions that Invincible season 2 could go in, but we already have an idea of what the next instalment might entail. This is based on the season 1 finale and some hints from the series’ official Twitter account.

First, let’s discuss the Invincible season 1 finale. Omni-Man was supposed to conquer Earth for the Viltrumite Empire but, after realizing that he couldn’t kill Mark and enslave humanity for his people, he tearfully heads out into space for an unknown destination.

Season 2 should pick up this plot thread. Mark will be tasked with keeping Earth safe from the invading Viltrumites, as well as help the Coalition of Planets stop the former from carrying out their universe-wide expansion. Mark already knows that a fleet is on its way thanks to Allen the Alien’s warning and, with Allen having a more prominent role in the comics from this point on, we can expect the duo’s friendship to grow in season 2.

We should also find out where Omni-Man/Nolan has gone. In the comics, Nolan flies off to invade another planet, which he hopes will act as recompense – with the Viltrum Empire – for deserting his posting on Earth. There’s a lot more for the TV series to cover regarding Mark and Nolan’s relationship, which is explored extensively in the comics, too. We’ll be here forever if we dive too deep into this father-son bond so, for now, we’ll say we hope to see some of Simmons’ Nolan next season.

Additionally, the show should be entering cosmic territory as well. Expect stranger worlds, weirder characters, and a universe-spanning plot to be translated from page to screen.

Season 1’s final episode also teased other potential subplots for its successor. We should see more of the Sequids storyline, which wasn’t officially concluded. We know that a Martian has infiltrated Earth after he traded places with one of the human astronauts. Additionally, the astronaut who was left behind on Mars is now being controlled by the Sequids, which could spell bad news for Earth if this parasitic race charts a course for the blue planet.

We might see Titan and Battle Beast’s stories fleshed out in more detail, too. The last time we saw them, they had taken over Machine Head’s criminal organization and teleported away from Earth respectively. Their tales continue in the comics, and Kirkman has already alluded to fan favorite Battle Beast getting more screen time in season 2. The Flaxans also look like they’ll return, despite Omni-Man’s rampage across their home planet in episode 2.

One interesting piece of news concerns story elements that didn’t even make it into Invincible’s comic run. In a chat with Beyond the Trailer, Kirkman revealed that he hoped to include storylines in the TV show that he couldn’t fit into the graphic novels. One example that Kirkman gives relates to Damien Darkblood, who was banished back to Hell by Cecil Stedman in episode 4. It’s unclear if this will form part of season 2, though.

Meanwhile, Kirkman has revealed more of where Invincible season 2’s plot could go and it could include arguably Mark’s biggest nemesis from the comics – Angstrom Levy.

Following that announcement, Kirkman reiterated that Levy will be part of season 2’s story.

Speaking during the virtual Skybound Xpo Invincible panel (where he declined to say when season 2 would arrive), Kirkman said: “He [Levy] really shakes things up. If you’re familiar with the comics and you’ve watched the TV show, you’ll get a sense of where we’re going with the second season, especially if you think really hard about how we adapted the story in the first season.”

For fans of the TV show only, Kirkman also teased that there would be some “crazy stuff coming”, while Jason Mantzoukas revealed that he can’t wait for season 2 to “introduce more villains… like Thragg” and more of the comic series’ intergalactic elements.

Speaking to Collider in November 2022, Mantzoukas provided a brief but enticing update about Invincible season 2’s story, saying: “I can tease nothing except that it will be incredible, full stop.” Color us intrigued, Jason.

How many seasons will Invincible’s TV adaptation get?

In total, there are 144 Invincible comics, spanning 15 years of Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley’s careers. The TV adaptation altered the order of certain plot points in season 1, but the first eight episodes only covered the first 23 issues. If a similar trajectory is maintained for future seasons, Invincible may end around the season 7 or 8 mark.

According to Kirkman, there could be more or less than that. Speaking to ScreenRant, he said that there’s a “rough roadmap for where things from the comics will fall”. Additionally, Kirkman told Inverse that he “could see it going for five… seven… even 10 years. Maybe we run out of comic books and… we do 100 seasons.”

Of course, that last number is Kirkman being excited about his own property, but we could certainly see Invincible running for at least five seasons. If audiences want more, Amazon would be silly to end it after three seasons. Although, much of that will depend on whether Invincible continues to draw in audiences in its next two seasons.

Or will it? In a chat with Collider, Seth Rogen seemed to suggest that Invincible will continue on Prime Video past season 3. However, responding to a request for comment from TechRadar, Amazon confirmed that “nothing official has been announced”, so we’re still in the dark over the show’s future post-season 3.

Amazon has had major success with its live-action series based around another R-rated comic book in Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. So there’s no reason why Invincible season 2 can’t build on its predecessor’s foundations and stick around for many more years to come.

For more Prime Video-based content, check out our in-depth guides on The Rings of Power season 2 and The Wheel of Time season 2.