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The Boys creator Eric Kripke discusses his "bucket list" moment recruiting Samuel L. Jackson to voice Xander the Shark for the final season.
Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: the boys
The Boys Showrunner on "Bucket List" Casting of Samuel L. Jackson
The Boys creator Eric Kripke discusses his "bucket list" moment recruiting Samuel L. Jackson to voice Xander the Shark for the final season.
Article Summary
- The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke calls casting Samuel L. Jackson as Xander the Shark a true "bucket list" moment.
- Kripke says Samuel L. Jackson was the first choice for The Boys cameo, and the actor quickly signed on, being a fan of the show.
- The Boys penultimate episode unleashes Xander’s furious warning to The Deep after the pipeline disaster kills sea life.
- Kripke highlights The Boys history of standout celebrity voice cameos, with Jackson joining another wild Deep storyline.
Stunt casting is nothing new on the Prime Video series The Boys, as Eric Kripke has landed some high-profile talent on screen and as voiceover talent. It certainly doesn't hurt that one of the executive producers of the Garth Ennis-comic adaptation series is none other than Seth Rogen. On top of the infamous poker game that featured Rogen, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kumail Nanjiani, Will Forte, and Craig Robinson in the star-studded episode "One-Shots" with the much-anticipated OTHER Kripke series with the Supernatural reunion with Jensen Ackles, Jared Padelecki, and Mischa Collins, The Boys aquatic member of the Seven in The Deep (Chace Crawford) had celebrities voicing some of his "friends" and parts with Patton Oswalt voicing his gills in season two, Tilda Swinton voicing Ambrosius the Octopus, and now, Samuel L. Jackson as Xander the Shark in the penultimate episode "The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother's Milk." Kripke spoke to Deadline about how Jackson's appearance came to be. The following contains spoilers.
The Boys Creator Eric Kripke on Landing Samuel L. Jackson as Xander the Shark
To set the scene, The Deep has been dealing with some serious issues from his deteriorating relationship with his podcasting partner and fellow member of the Seven in Black Noir II (Nathan Mitchel). Starting with shattering his dreams of something better with director Adam Bourke (P.J. Byrne) by killing him on the toilet with a lamprey, Noir got his revenge by making the Vought pipeline explode during The Deep's PSA, creating a sea life holocaust, where billions of marine animals were lost, with the Deep barely surviving himself. The decimation sent ripples through the ocean world, and Xander delivered his deadly threats to The Deep as he was sulking over Homelander (Antony Starr) dissolving the Seven, blaming him for the pipeline disaster and declaring him an enemy of all sea life, delivering a few "motherfuckers" for additional effect.
"We wanted a really distinct voice, and who has a more distinct voice in Hollywood than Sam Jackson?" Kripke said. "So we just went to his agent. He was our first choice, and we were like, 'Does he want to do this?' It was really just taking a flyer. But then it came back, Oh yeah, he likes the show, and totally, he'll do it. Boy, that's a bucket list moment, man, of Sam Jackson reading your dialogue." It's not like A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) didn't warn The Deep in the season five premiere or anything. The Boys finale "Blood and Bone" premieres May 20th on Prime Video and in select Regal Cinemas in 4DX on May 19th.
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