Eric Kripke, creator of Prime Video's The Boys, has revealed how Samuel L. Jackson came to voice the hammerhead shark Xander in the latest episode. The cameo occurs in Season 5's penultimate episode, titled “The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk.”
Jackson's character, Xander, first appeared in the season premiere as a friend giving The Deep (Chace Crawford) a ride. In the new episode, Xander returns to threaten The Deep over an oil pipeline that has devastated ocean life.
Kripke explained that many cameos on the show come through connections with producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. However, for Jackson, they simply approached his agent. “We wanted a really distinct voice and who has a more distinct voice in Hollywood than Sam Jackson?” Kripke told Polygon. “He was our first choice.”
To the team's delight, Jackson agreed, having been a fan of the series. Kripke described it as a “bucket list moment” to have Jackson read his dialogue. The cameo follows other voice appearances on the show, such as Tilda Swinton as The Deep's octopus lover Ambrosius in Season 4.
The Season 5 finale of The Boys will premiere in 4DX theaters on May 19 before streaming the next day.
