The Boys’ final season has been full of unexpected surprises that have been keeping fans on the edge of their seats all season long.
It’s actually been quite refreshing, as the show has been anything but predictable, showing its not afraid to take risks other shows avoided in their own final seasons. The season has brought several major deaths (as well as the deaths of several side characters), featured a few surprise returns, and doled out some plot twists no one saw coming.
The season has also featured some fun cameos along the way. From reuniting Jensen Ackles with his Supernatural co-stars Misha Collins and Jared Padalecki to unexpected celebrity cameos from the likes of Seth Rogen, Will Forte, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kumail Nanjiani, and Craig Robinson, the final season has had no shortage of incredible guest stars, and the list of names grew once again in the penultimate episode of the series with the addition of a Marvel legend not known for TV appearances.
Samuel L. Jackson voices Xander the Shark in The Boy season 5 episode 7
Your ears did not deceive you; that was indeed Marvel legend Samuel L. Jackson voicing Xander the Shark in the penultimate episode of The Boys’ final season. Jackson made a surprise cameo in the episode, voicing Xander in a hilarious scene in which Jackson used his iconic voice to serve up a threat to the Deep.
After Deep was dismissed from the Seven by Homelander, he went to the beach to sulk and throw back a few drinks. He was greeted by Xander, who tried to lure Deep into the waters before he made it clear that all of the creatures in the ocean blame him for the oil spill that claimed the lives of over a billion marine animals. Deep tried to assure him that it wasn’t him, but Xander made it clear that if Deep enters the water, they’ll tear him to pieces for causing the marine genocide.
“If you step one foot, one f-cking stupid-a-s simian toe in the water, anywhere—an ocean, a stream, a f-cking puddle—go on, son, you’re dead. We’re gonna kill you! You understand, you dumb motherf-cker? Water is f-cking off-limits to you. You are dead to us!”
Needless to say, Xander has quite the foul mouth, and the delivery was one only Jackson could truly deliver, which was crucial for the character. In fact, the writers of The Boys knew they needed a distinct voice to capture the essence of the character.
“We wanted a really distinct voice and who has a more distinct voice in Hollywood than Sam Jackson? 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,” series creator and showrunner Eric Kripke told Polygon reflecting on Jackson’s casting.
Jackson was honestly a phenomenal selection for the role, and it was a fun cameo, even if we didn't get to see Jackson appear on-camera. He's actually the second major Hollywood legend to lend their voice to a marine creature on the show following Tilda Swinton's voice cameo as Deep's octopus lover Ambrosius back in season 4 of the show.
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