Elsewhere in the Multiverse, Invincible looked very different with Omni-Man's J.K. Simmons playing another key role. Invincible is famous not just for being one of the best comic book shows of all time, but also for assembling one of the greatest casts. While the series is led by Steven Yeun's Mark Grayson, perhaps its most legendary portrayal is from Spider-Man actor J.K. Simmons as Nolan Grayson, aka Omni-Man, Invincible's complex Viltrumite antagonist-turned-reluctant hero.
During an appearance on The Escape Pod, Invincible creator Robert Kirkman confirmed that they "originally offered [J.K. Simmons] another role." While that information has been public knowledge for a couple of years now, the fresh development came in the reveal of exactly which crucial character that was.
While Kirkman was initially hesitant to comment, The Escape Pod's Wafellow speculated that Simmons may have been a fit for Cecil Stedman. In response, the creator confirmed that the Global Defense Agency director was the offered role, laughing as he said, "It might have been Cecil."
As fans will be well aware, Cecil has played a major role as Invincible's Nick Fury-esque in the first four seasons, where he has been voiced by Fallout star Walton Goggins, although his survival chances for future seasons may be slim.
Kirkman stated that Simmons took a peek at the script and decided that he would "rather play Omni-Man," which he thinks is a "great thing for an actor" to do:
"It was fun because we sent him the script, and he was like, 'I would rather play Omni-Man,' and we were like, 'Yeah, that would be great." And yeah, I think that's a great thing for an actor to be like, 'Hmm, not that role."
Previously, in an interview with GQ, Simmons confirmed he was approached to play another character in Invincible but turned it down because he "didn't see [himself] as the character" that they were offering. As such, he passed on Invincible, only to be offered the Omni-Man role months later:
"They actually had first approached me about playing a different character, and I read it, and I thought, ‘Wow, this is, like, really smart and weird and cool.’ This sounds silly, because it’s animated, but I just kind of didn’t see myself as the character that they were saying they would want me to play, and I passed on it. Then, I don’t know how many months later, they came back and asked me to play Nolan, Omni-Man."
Invincible recently wrapped Season 4 and will return for Season 5 in 2027, but it has already started teasing what's to come in the Amazon adaptation.
Invincible Will Eventually Have Another Omni-Man Actor
It's interesting to hear that Omni-Man wasn't the Invincible crew's first choice for J.K. Simmons in the Amazon adaptation, especially given how iconic his portrayal of Nolan Grayson has become. While there's no doubt that a talented, Oscar-winning actor like Simmons could have equally brought something unique to Cecil Stedman, it certainly seems that everybody ended up in the right role.
If the Invincible comics are anything to go by, Omni-Man will remain a major player in the animated series all the way until the final season, which is still many years away, as the adaptation is expected to require seven to nine seasons to complete.
Fans can only hope that Simmons will stick around in the role for the full run, but that doesn't mean that there will never be another Omni-Man actor. A live-action Invincible adaptation is still in development, and the 71-year-old Simmons is undeniably too old to tackle the Viltrumite in live-action.
Actors like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Hugh Jackman, Jon Hamm, and Henry Cavill have all been thrown around to fill Simmons' shoes as Omni-Man in live-action. Still, any potential casting for the Invincible remake, as most anticipate that the movie, if it happens at all, won't be made until after the series concludes.
