Was Bryan Cranston offered a role in Invincible? Explained

Invincible is an adult animated superhero series created by Robert Kirkman. It is based on the comic book series of the same name, co-created by Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley, that was published from 2003 to 2018. The show is developed by Kirkman and Simon Racioppa, who also serves as the showrunner.

The series features a star-studded voice cast that includes Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, J. K. Simmons, Gillian Jacobs, Zazie Beetz, Chris Diamantopoulos, and many others. Bryan Cranston was also offered a role in the series, but he turned it down.

Invincible premiered its first season on March 25, 2021, on Amazon Prime. The show is currently in its third season, which began on February 6, 2025, and will conclude on March 13, 2025. Its official synopsis, as per Amazon Prime, reads:

"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."

---

Bryan Cranston was approached for a role in Invincible

A still of Nolan Grayson/Omni-Man from the animated series Invincible (Image via Amazon Prime Video)

Speaking to Discussing Film on February 11, 2025, Robert Kirkman shared that he would love to cast the Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston on the show. He elaborated further by saying:

"As far as dream casting goes, I think we offer Bryan Cranston a role every season. That has become our tradition, and his tradition is that he turns us down (laughs). But we're coming for you again, Bryan, and we'll see what happens next time. Fingers crossed! Literally, Bryan Cranston is the only actor that has turned us down."

Bryan Cranston has not commented on why he does not want to be a part of Invincible. Had he chosen to appear in the show's third season, he would have joined his Breaking Bad co-stars, Aaron Paul and Jonathan Banks. The two play the supervillains Powerplex and Conquest, respectively, but their characters are yet to appear on screen.

---

What is Invincible about?

An image of Mark and his friends taken from the Prime Video series (Image via Amazon Prime Video)

The sci-fi series focuses on Mark Grayson, who has inherited his father Nolan's superpowers. Nolan's alter ego is named Omni-Man, and he is touted as the most powerful superhero on Earth. Thus, Mark trains with his father to awaken his superpowers and fulfill his destiny as the titular Invincible.

Mark is heartbroken upon finding out that his father has killed his fellow team members from the superhero team, Guardians of the Globe. Their confrontation leads Mark to discover that Nolan is a warrior of the Viltrum Empire, sent to conquer Earth by destroying its strongest members first. He urges Mark to join him in his mission, but he refuses to become a mass murderer.

The show's second season deals with the concept of multiverses and depicts Mark fighting the scientist Angstrom Levy. The two become enemies after Mark unknowingly causes an accident that leaves the scientist disfigured for life. To exact his revenge, Levy unleashes his fury on Mark's mother, Debbie, and brother Oliver.

Levy has the unique ability to connect across parallel universes. In his bid to stop Levy, Mark goes on a quest across the multiverse, where he meets other characters like Atom Eve, Robot, Monster Girl, and a version of the Guardians of the Globe.

Despite getting killed in season 2, a version of Angstrom (from a parallel universe) returns in the third season to complicate matters for Mark, who is busy fighting other villains like Dupli-Kate's brother Multi-Paul and Doc Seismic.

---

Viewers can watch all episodes of Invincible on Amazon Prime.