Jay Pharoah Talks The Delight Of Joining Invincible Season 2, Part 2’s Secrets & The Blackening 2

The superhero roster has grown even further with the introduction of Bulletproof in Invincible season 2. The new member of the Guardians of the Globe is voiced by Jay Pharoah, best known for his six-year tenure on Saturday Night Live, as well as the Showtime comedy White Famous and guest appearances in A Black Lady Sketch Show, A Million Little Things and the 2023 hit horror comedy The Blackening. Much like the titular hero, his father, Omni-Man, and The Immortal, Bulletproof is largely impervious to harm and has super strength and the ability to fly.

Following the brutal Part 1 cliffhanger ending, Invincible season 2 part 2 will pick up with Steven Yeun’s Mark Grayson repairing the Thraxan homeworld after his and Omni-Man’s hard-hitting fight against fellow Viltrumites left it mostly in ruins. Mark’s brief respite will be swiftly upended, however, as his return to Earth is short-lived as he teams up with the new and returning members of the Guardians of the Globe to prevent the brainwashing Martian sequids from landing on Earth and conquering the planet.

In anticipation of the show’s return, Screen Rant interviewed Jay Pharoah to discuss Invincible season 2, his long desire to play a superhero on screen, including his hopes to carry over the role into the live-action movie, a tease of what’s to come from Part 2 and an exciting update on his potential The Blackening 2 return.

Pharoah Is The “Coolest Cousin” For Being Part Of Invincible Season 2’s Cast

Screen Rant: Jay, I’m very excited to chat with you. In general, I’m a big fan of your work, but especially for Invincible. What was it like for you when you were approached to be a part of this universe?

Jay Pharoah: Dude, I’ve always wanted to be a superhero, first of all. To be part of such a big project, because it’s loved ubiquitously, man. So many people love this project, I’m the coolest cousin to my little cousins, just because of Invincible. Honestly, at first, I wasn’t following it, so I didn’t know how much of a fanbase it had, dude. But then, once I got into it, I was like, “Oh, man, this is dope. This is Marvel level, it could be, if it was ever adapted to live-action.” [Chuckles] So, when I first got it, I was happy to play a superhero, but once I found out exactly what I was in, I said, “Holy s–t, this is humongous.” I’m honored to be a part of it.

I love that you get to have that special bond with your family because of that. So, I feel like with Bulletproof, he’s still kind of becoming a bigger and bigger character as the season’s gone on. How much research did you do for the character, and how much did Robert inform you about what his plans were for Bulletproof?

Jay Pharoah: Well, they laid down exactly how he wanted him to be read. But it’s so crazy, no research was done prior to it, besides the multiple amount of superhero franchises and movies that I follow. There was no, “Oh, snap. Let’s kind of see how he’s gonna go.” It was an experiment, getting in the booth. With me, since I’ve got so many different ways I could take my vocal cords, the producers are usually just like, “Let’s see what we can come up with, and try a few, and we’ll see if we can go with that.”

They ultimately ended up going with the cool, kind of swagged out, “Too Cool For School” version of this character, Bulletproof. Which works really well, you know, with not doing an impression, but it’s just playing that part of the character up, I know how to do that. It’s kind of dope, because I never get a chance to play a character like that. Most of my characters are either really, really zany, or really, I would say, old. [Laughs] Not cool and laid back and relaxed, it’s not normally like that.

Pharoah Teases A Bigger Role For Bulletproof In Part 2

What can you tell audiences about what’s coming in Part 2, as far as Bulletproof and the rest of the Guardians?

Jay Pharoah: Well, there isn’t too much I can tell you, because we’re about to drop, so you gotta tune in, you got to watch it. But, you can continue to see Bulletproof’s character become larger throughout the series, I can tell you that. But hey, man, I can’t tell you if we’re gonna lose somebody, or if there’s a character that’s not gonna make it, I can’t tell you that. So, y’all just gotta tune in, man, and you will. So, you’ll find out.

Oh, trust me, we will! So, with a show like this, as you just kind of did, it can be hard to dance around questions and have to hold on to secrets. Some actors love it, some actors hate it. How do you feel about having to hold back secrets from people?

Jay Pharoah: I think it just keeps people on the edge of their toes, man, it always incites excitement. So, I love keeping the secrets away from the audience and allowing them to authentically run through the time. That’s what I like, so I don’t have a problem whatsoever. I don’t know how it is for the folks at Marvel, but over here, baby, it’s fun. It’s a fun game watching to see how you all are gonna guess how our art plays out. [Laughs]

Now, this season in particular took quite a while to finally release. When did you come along in the process? Because sometimes actors will come in before any animation is done, sometimes they’ll come in after the whole thing has been done.

Jay Pharoah: I believe that one season had already went down, so I was like, “Okay, cool.” For the second, I was definitely a part of the process before, as far as the animatics go. I think a lot of my stuff was done before, so I get in before they come, and before they put everything together. I came in and, you know, popped off in the second out of third.

Now, you’re no stranger to voiceover work, but when you come into a project like this where, like we said, a full season has been released. What is that like for you imagining this world while you’re in the booth versus some something like maybe The Mitchells vs. the Machines, where you’ve only seen maybe concept art versus a full project released?

Jay Pharoah: It kind of puts you in the mood, you know what I mean? It puts you more in the mood of the character, like if you see how gritty something is, and you’re not just hearing it, you’re not just hearing what’s going on, you’re seeing the grittiness of it, then I think that adds another layer to your acting. So, since I could see what was going on, I was like, “Okay, cool.” I could kind of measure and stay in the world a little bit better, I believe. So yeah, I definitely believe getting a chance to see it before will cement you even more in the world.

“Conversations Are Already Being Had” For Pharoah’s The Blackening 2 Return

I can imagine it would definitely be of benefit to have that. Before I let you go, I was a big fan of The Blackening. I was so bummed when Shawn died at the beginning, but I love that they’re working on a sequel and talking about maybe a new cast or something along those lines. If you were invited back, would you be open to diving back into that world?

Jay Pharoah: Oh, hell yeah, brother. Hell, yeah! As a matter of fact, even though if you watch the film, things happen, conversations are already being had to bring such character, maybe, back from something that they can’t get out of. I don’t know who’s watched the movie, but you can pretty much read between the lines of what I just said. They’re already thinking about including me in the next one, so hopefully we can iron that out. I would love to return to it, man.

About Invincible Season 2 Part 2

Invincible Season 2 returns March 14! Mark goes back to college, reads his dad’s books, and nothing bad happens to him or his family. This is a very official synopsis.

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.

Invincible Season 2 Part 2 begins streaming on Prime Video on March 14.