Patton Oswalt was already known to be executive producing and writing the upcoming Hulu animated series ‘M.O.D.O.K.’, based on the unusual Marvel mad scientist. Now it has been confirmed that Oswalt will also voice the lead character. ‘M.O.D.O.K.’– short for “Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing” — is the bizarre creation of the legendary Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and is striking in that he is a humongous floating head with tiny dangling arms and legs.
Via Marvel.com:
After being ousted from both his evil organization and his family, super villain M.O.D.O.K. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing) must reinvent himself if he ever wants the chance to win back the things in his life that are most important… outside of conquering the world that is. M.O.D.O.K. is about to find out that superheroes are nothing compared to his newest challenge… a midlife crisis.
Oswalt famously voiced the rat Remy in Disney’s ‘Ratatouli’, and the titular magical unicorn on Syfy’s ‘Happy!’. He has also lent his voice to ‘We Bare Bears’, ‘American Dad!’, ‘Archer’, ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Justice League Action’, ‘Pickle and Peanut’, ‘Teen Titans GO! to the Movies’, ‘Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures’, ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’, ‘The Secret Life of Pets 2’, ‘Spider-Man’, ‘BoJack Horseman’, ‘Big Hero 6: The Series’, and he narrates the sitcom ‘The Goldbergs’.
In addition, it has been announced that the cast will include Aimee Garcia (‘Lucifer’), Melissa Fumero (‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’), Wendi McLendon-Covey (‘The Goldbergs’), Ben Schwartz (‘Space Force’), Beck Bennett (‘SNL’), Jon Daly (‘Big Mouth’), and Sam Richardson (‘Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’).
Garcia will voice M.O.D.O.K.’s wife, Jodie:
Excited to pursue her mommy-blog turned lifestyle-brand empire and discover who she is as an independent woman in her forties. There are just too many things to do in this world and not enough time to waste being held back by negativity. And unfortunately for M.O.D.O.K., the thing weighing her down the most… is him.
Ben Schwartz is best identified as Jean-Ralphio on ‘Parks and Recreation’, but he is also voicing the titular character in the upcoming film ‘Sonic the Hedgehog‘. He has also voiced Leo on ‘Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’, Rutabaga Rabitowitz on ‘BoJack Horseman’, and Dewey on ‘Duck Tales’.
On ‘M.O.D.O.K.’, Schwartz voices M.O.D.O.K. and Jodie’s 12-year-old son Lou:
Not athletic enough to be a jock. Not smart enough to be a nerd. Lou is… well, Lou — a kid who clearly marches to the beat of his own drum. Lou’s lack of friends, ambition and hygiene is a constant worry for M.O.D.O.K., who often projects his own insecurities onto his overly confident son.
Fumero portrays M.O.D.O.K.’s 17-year-old daughter, Melissa, who despite inheriting her father’s body type is “the Heathers-like queen bee of her school and a star in the world of teen figure skating. Every popular kid either wants to date her or avoid her terrifying wrath. But for all of her success, Melissa secretly yearns for her father’s approval.”
McClendon-Covey is best known as mother, Beverly on ‘The Goldbergs’. She voiced Beverly on ‘American Dad!’, and has also lent her voice to ‘Pickle and Peanut’, and ‘Bob’s Burgers’. She will voice M.O.D.O.K.’s rival:
Monica is a brilliant mad-scientist at A.I.M. and M.O.D.O.K.’s rival at work. Clearly more competent and qualified than M.O.D.O.K., Monica believes she should be running the organization. After GRUMBL acquires A.I.M., Monica relishes in M.O.D.O.K.’s suffering until the new management begins to infringe on her ungodly experiments. With a common enemy in Austin, M.O.D.O.K. and Monica are finally able to put aside their differences and work together… when they aren’t constantly betraying each other.
‘SNL’ mainstay Beck Bennett voices Launchpad McQuack on ‘Duck Tales’ and has lent his voice to ‘Sing’, ‘The Angry Birds Movie 2’, and ‘We Bare Bears’. On ‘M.O.D.O.K.’, he voices Austin Van Der Sleet, a tech guru who winds up calling the shots at AIM.
After M.O.D.O.K.’s evil organization A.I.M. is run into the ground, he’s forced to sell it to silicon valley tech-giant GRUMBL. GRUMBL sends slick, twenty-something Austin as a “post-merger-integration-consultant” and M.O.D.O.K.’s new boss. Though M.O.D.O.K. wishes he could just zap Austin to the Negative Zone, M.O.D.O.K. must find new solutions to confront Austin’s corporate jargon-speak and frequent mandatory HR meetings, if he’s ever going to reclaim A.I.M. from Austin’s grip.
One of the toughest adversaries the Avengers have ever fought is the Super Adaptoid, a shape-shifting robot that can mimic their powers and skills. But, things have changed for this character on ‘M.O.D.O.K.’. Jon Daly– ‘Long Live the Royals’, ‘Jeff & Some Aliens’, ‘Family Guy’, ‘Archer’, ‘Bob’s Burgers’, ‘American Dad!’, ‘Big Mouth’, and more– will voice this character.
A snarky android with ambitions to live, feel and create, but is instead forced to spend his days massaging the hoverchair sores on his creator M.O.D.O.K.’s scalp. Although the Adaptoid dreams of overwriting his programming and turning on M.O.D.O.K., there is also a begrudging friendship between these two.
Finally, Sam Richardson– Muninn on ‘Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’– voices AIM henchman Gary:
Gary is a henchman or “beekeeper” at A.I.M. who is fiercely loyal to his boss M.O.D.O.K., even if M.O.D.O.K. struggles to remember his name. As M.O.D.O.K. continues to get demoted within his own organization, Gary is there by his side, always offering his help and unshakeable optimism whether M.O.D.O.K. wants it or not.
Said Executive Producer and Showrunner Jordan Blum:
“I’m blown away by our insanely talented and hilarious voice cast, who have all brought their specific kind of magic to this weird and wonderful corner of the Marvel Universe.”
Marvel TV Studios’ Karim Zreik added:
“Patton and Jordan have done a phenomenal job in laying the groundwork for this exceptional ensemble, we’re thrilled to include this cast in the Marvel family.”
Hulu has not announced when ‘M.O.D.O.K.’ will be released, but what do you think of the cast so far?
