The Boys is no stranger to reeling in big fish. Will Ferrell did a cameo in Season 4 as himself, working alongside A-Train on the set of the Supes' latest Vought project. A season earlier, Charlize Theron was brought in to play a fictional version of Stormfront for "Dawn of the Seven." But The Boys Season 5 may very well feature the show's biggest celebrity appearance, and it's not Misha Collins or Jared Padalecki, who signed on to appear alongside their former Supernatural co-star Jensen Ackles.
In Season 5 Episode 7, "The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother's Milk," The Deep is having a rough go of it. Homelander dispands The Seven, and Black Noir, one of the few people who could stand to be in the same room as The Deep, is gone for good after a falling out with the aquatic Supe. The only place The Deep has left to go is the sea, so he visits a body of water to clear his mind.
Before The Deep can even get in the water, though, his shark pal, Xander, shows up, much to the Supe's surprise. However, Xander isn't there to offer his human pal a shoulder to cry on. No, the shark goes on a profanity-filled tirade about how The Deep isn't welcome near water anymore because of the pipeline fiasco. And the one doing the yelling is none other than Samuel L. Jackson, who makes a surprise cameo as the voice of Xander.
Obviously, Jackson knows his way around a major franchise like The Boys, since he already has heavyweights like Star Wars and Jurassic Park under his belt. But joining the popular Prime Video shows suggests that Jackson prefers superhero franchises over any other.
Every Superhero Franchise Samuel L. Jackson Has Appeared In
Marvel Cinematic Universe
These days, an actor is lucky to get an offer to appear in a Marvel Studios movie. But that wasn't always the case. Back in the 2000s, Jackson took a risk by agreeing to appear at the end of Iron Man as iconic comic book spy Nick Fury and talk about the Avengers Initiative. Of course, the move paid off, with Jackson's character acting as the glue that brought the MCU's original Avengers together.
After The Avengers became a massive success, Jackson was called upon time and time again. His character cheated death in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, fought an army of rogue Skrulls in Secret Invasion, and babysat a bunch of alien cats in The Marvels. And since Fury is still kicking, there's a good chance the MCU has more in store for him.
Pixar
Eric Kripke and Co. aren't the only people who think the world of Jackson's voice. Brad Bird recruited the actor in the early 2000s for an animated movie called The Incredibles, about a family of metahumans who fought crime in a world that didn't believe it needed heroes anymore. Jackson helped bring Mr. Incredible's best friend, Frozone, to life, delivering iconic lines like, "Honey, where's my supersuit?"
Jackson reprised his role in The Incredibles 2 in 2018, which saw Frozone be thrust into a more action-heavy role. With Incredibles 3 in the works and currently hanging on to a June 2028 release date, it's only a matter of time before Jackson gets back in the recording booth and works on more material that's sure to put a smile on faces across the world.
Unbreakable
An actor as good as Jackson can't only play good guys. In 2000, director M. Night Shyamalan was at the height of his powers and delivered a superhero film called Unbreakable. Bruce Willis played the protagonist, David Dunn, a man with incredible strength. Well, Dunn needed a foil, so Shyamalan enlisted the help of Jackson, who played Mr. Glass, a mysterious man with a rare disease that made his bones extremely fragile.
Dunn discovered that Mr. Glass had orchestrated horrible events around the world to lure out a superhero. The villain's plan worked, but he ended up in jail for his crimes. Nearly two decades later, in Glass, the two characters reunited and duked it out once again. But this time, Mr. Glass had his own metahuman on his side, The Beast, played by James McAvoy, who reprised his role from the secret sequel film Split.
DC
Not every comic book movie fits neatly under an umbrella. For example, The Spirit, written and directed by Frank Miller, is technically a DC movie because of its source material's connections to the comic publisher. The Spirit focused on the titular hero, who protected his city from the evil Octopus, played by Jackson.
The Spirit isn't one of the first movies that comes to mind when thinking about Jackson's filmography. That's probably because it failed to connect with critics and audience members. But that wasn't Jackson's fault because he gave a memorable performance playing a character that lesser actors would have struggled to make even somewhat interesting.
