Summary

Collider’s Steve Weintraub talks with Robert Kirkman at San Diego Comic-Con 2025.

Kirkman shares his process writing for the Energon Universe Transformers comics, teasing his Issue #25.

He also discusses Invincible Season 4, the status of Season 5, and his roadmap for the Prime Video series’ future.

There are few artists with as much success and critical acclaim as Robert Kirkman, the creative visionary behind comic books like The Walking Dead, Invincible, and various Marvel comics. Kirkman is a prolific writer, and he always has something on the docket, whether it be an original story or a new saga in a long-running franchise. A mainstay on the convention circuit, Kirkland always has interesting stories and fascinating insights into his process. Most recently, he has found great success in television, creating and producing the animated Prime Video series based on his Invincible comics, which was recently renewed for a fifth season and potentially more on the horizon. The series’ vocal roster includes Steven Yeun, J.K. Simmons, Sandra Oh, and Walton Goggins, among many others. At San Diego Comic-Con 2025, Kirkman sat down with Collider’s Steven Weintraub to discuss Invincible, Robot Chicken satirizing The Walking Dead, and teases for his upcoming Transformers comics.
Robert Kirkman Shares a Few of His Favorite Things

From Mondo collectibles to where he’s catching the next IMAX blockbuster, join us on the “lush green couch at Collider.”

Image via Alex Cobian

ROBERT KIRKMAN: Hey, everybody. We’re on the lush green couch at Collider. I’m here with Steven Weintraub. We’re going to be doing some awesome stuff. Hey, Frosty. How are you, man? COLLIDER: How are you doing, Robert? KIRKMAN: Doing great. I like the way you took that over. This is the best set we’ve ever had at Comic-Con. KIRKMAN: The doors opened, and I was like, “Wow.” I’m very impressed. That’s sincerity; it doesn’t sound like it, but it is. Only note: next time, get a breeze coming in here, so you have the best of both worlds. If I can get a silent fan, that’s coming. So, I’m obsessed with getting more people to see movies in movie theaters. Do you have a favorite movie theater? KIRKMAN: If I’m honest, it’s the Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine. The IMAX there is the biggest IMAX screen. So, even though it’s like a two-hour drive… All you guys complain about going to the movies —I drive two hours to see movies all the time just to go down and see them on that screen. I will look and see what’s playing on that screen and be like, “Oh, yeah, I’ll go see that.” It’s the best experience. I think it’s 11 stories tall. It’s crazy. I know you like to collect things. We’re here at Comic-Con, so what have you bought this year, or what have you bought recently that you’re really excited that you have? KIRKMAN: I ordered those 1/12 scale Mondo real Ghostbusters figures that are limited edition, and they come with the big ghosts. It’s the cool ghosts from the old cartoon, the Sandman and the Samhain. I’m excited about the Ghostbusters, too, because I used to love that cartoon. It’s great-looking toys, very accurate and detailed. To have the big ghosts for the first time is pretty awesome. What’s the last TV show or movie that you’ve seen that you really want to recommend? KIRKMAN: Season 2 of Poker Face rips. I love Poker Face. I actually liked and thought it was cool how repetitive it got. Like, “Oh, okay, cool. She’s going to go here, and there’s also going to be a murder.” Crazy, but fun. They mess with the formula so much in the second season that it is an absolute delight every single episode to be like “Oh, they’re changing it this way, and they’re changing it this way.” It’s just a really remarkable show. This guy, Rian Johnson… KIRKMAN: I think he might have a future! I moderated the panel for Robot Chicken the other night, and I learned that very key people have to sign off on doing one of their Robot Chicken specials. They basically said it was you who helped them get to be able to do The Walking Dead. Did they call you, and you were like, “Oh, yeah, go for it”? KIRKMAN: I talked to AMC behind the scenes and was like, “I’d really like to be able to do this.” Scott Gimple was 100% on board, too. In tandem, we talked AMC into being game to do it. I feel like maybe Scott and I were designated as the people who would maintain the integrity of the show and make sure the Robot Chicken people didn’t go too far. So, oops. They kept inviting me to the writers’ room, and Scott actually went and spent some time there. I did a visit, but I just kept telling them, “I want you guys to do the funny thing you do. I don’t want to be in there pitching what I think is a Robot Chicken idea and disrupting things.” That special is one of my favorite things because, when I’d watch the skits, the little segments, they were new to me, and I wasn’t in the writers’ room for most of it. I got to do a voice. That was fun. It’s just one of those things where I can’t believe there’s a Robot Chicken episode based on my show. It’s nuts.
Robert Kirkman Teases His Upcoming ‘Transformers’ Comic

“Maybe we’re going to be killing some more characters. We’ll see.”

Image via Image Comics

What comics are you currently working on? I was researching last night, and I’m like, “Oh, shit, he’s doing a lot.” KIRKMAN: What comics am I releasing and I’m currently working on? Skinbreaker with David Finch comes out in September, but I finished writing it a year ago. There’s a lot of promotion and prep work and approving things and getting it ready for the printer that takes up some time. But I’m not actively writing that book even though it’s coming out. Right now, my active writing assignments are the Invincible Universe comic Battle Beast, Void Rivals, which I’m continuing for as long as I possibly can, and then Transformers. I’m taking over that with issue 25. I know how much you love Transformers. Is this your first time writing Transformers? KIRKMAN: In the building of the Energon universe, Sean Mackiewicz and I did a lot of plotting to set things up. There are a lot of elements that ended up in Daniel Warren Johnson’s run that we had constructed. Definitely the starting point, and some of the other key things at the very beginning. This is the first time. Well, I did write a script. My buddy and I were competing with Dreamwave when they got the license in the early 2000s, and we were one of the runner-ups. I did write a script as part of that process, but it was over 20 years ago, and that script is terrible. It’s funny because it does take place at a key point in the timeline. So I may, if I stay on the book long enough, get to adapt that script into this series, which I’m excited about, but that wouldn’t be for many, many years. What can you tease about your Transformers run? KIRKMAN: I think that Daniel Warren Johnson’s run is near perfect, and I think there’s a lot of pressure to follow him as a writer. I feel that pressure. So, I want to maintain the sense of propulsion and action and drama and everything that he was infusing into these characters. My goal is to make the run as seamless as possible. At the same time, I really want to add some new elements to the Transformers. I want to add unique elements where you look at the Energon Transformers book, that is unmistakably the Energon Universe cast of Transformers. There are going to be some changes that will start to creep into the book as I get deeper into the run. But to start, when you pick up issue 25, the goal is if you love 1–24, 25 is just going to be a nice seamless transition as we introduce some new elements and do some cool stuff. And maybe we’re going to be killing some more characters. We’ll see.

You’re a very talented writer. You know you’re coming on Transformers. You know you’re starting with issue 25. How does that work for you, in terms of writing that issue versus writing for a year from now or two years from now? KIRKMAN: We have far-reaching plans for the Energon Universe, so even before the first issues of anything were written, we had arcs and years plotted out, like, “This will be the year where this happens. This will be the year where this happens.” We have almost a 10-year plan. It’s really just about hitting the goalposts and getting to the things that we have planned. There’s some connective tissue that has to be worked out. I spent so much time in my career going, “If only this book could be successful enough for it to last this long, for me to be able to get to these ideas or get these ideas,” and then books would collapse, or I’d get fired. Now I’m at a place where if I decide that I want to get to that destination, I can. So, far-range plotting is something I spend most of my time doing.
Robert Kirkman Knows How Long He Wants ‘Invincible’ to Run

“If Season 5 is the last season, something went horribly wrong.”

Image via Prime Video

I definitely have to touch on Invincible. Where are you in the Invincible development process? What’s going on behind the scenes? KIRKMAN: We’re doing ADR for Season 4. We’re getting final animation, and our team is tweaking things. We’re doing ADR to finalize the dialogue and wrap these episodes. We’re in the process of wrapping Season 4 so that it can be released next year. There are a couple of episodes that are all buttoned up and done, and a couple of episodes that are in very rough shape that we’re getting to in the pipeline. Then Season 5, we’re doing animatics based on the voice records. We’re mostly wrapped on voice records. There are a couple of little bits and things to get, and finalizing design for those episodes and stuff. It’s a pretty fun process. We’re knee-deep in it and working on multiple seasons at once, and it’s very hectic. One of the things I remember between Season 1 and Season 2, you talked about that being the longest break that’s ever happened. I realized that, basically, every year now, you’re putting out a new season. KIRKMAN: That is the goal. Which is amazing. Obviously, if Prime Video is letting you do Season 5, it’s successful, but have they told you if the numbers go up every season? How is the popularity of the series? Do they tell you? KIRKMAN: Prime Video should be commended because this is a show that has just now aired its third season, and we’re already deep into production on Season 5. They’ve taken a huge chance on the show just because they have seen tremendous growth from Season 1 to Season 2 to Season 3. Season 3, by far, beat the viewership of Season 2 and is over-indexing in all kinds of metrics that I don’t get full information on. The show does very well. That is shown in how far-reaching their investment in the show is.

When I first asked you how many seasons do you think it could be, I want to say you said seven. I could be wrong about that. KIRKMAN: I don’t remember either. Then I started seeing, “It could be 10.” KIRKMAN: I say, why not 30? How many seasons would you like to make to tell the story that you want to tell? KIRKMAN: I try to be vague. I have a number. I’ve said the number, but now I’m like, “Do I want people to know the exact number?” So I’ll say roughly seven, eight, nine seasons would be the sweet spot to be able to complete the 144-issue story that we told in comics form to our satisfaction. In a perfect world. We’ll be around for a while. It’s not looking like Season 5 is the last season. If Season 5 is the last season, something went horribly wrong. There is no fucking way Season 5 is the last season, and this brings me to my next thing, which is, hypothetically, behind the scenes, are you working on Season 6? Are you working on Season 7? KIRKMAN: Let’s think about this question. Season 3 just came out. “Are you guys working on 6?” I ask you these questions, but I commend you, because one of the problems with streaming, and I think you would agree with me, is that the long breaks between seasons kill a show. When you can release a season every year, and I know that’s murder on you guys to do that, it keeps the audience. KIRKMAN: It’s almost like we’re doing it how TV was done for 60 years. It’s really challenging to be writing as well as finishing episodes. KIRKMAN: Simon Racioppa and I have a rough roadmap of what the seasons are going to be, and so are there thoughts in the back of our minds for what Season 6 is going to be? Definitely, and seasons beyond that. When Prime Video says, “Go,” we’re definitely ready to go. I would just say that we’re always planning for the future, but there are no scoops here. [Laughs]

Image via Alex Cobian

During the making of any show, you learn how to make the show, and I’m assuming making the first few seasons really taught you so much about what you can accomplish for what budget with animation, etc. What are some of the big lessons you’ve learned from making the first few seasons that have helped you tremendously with Seasons 4 and 5? KIRKMAN: I feel like we’re finding a better balance with the show, and what I mean by that is not breaking all of the teams involved in making the show by just writing scripts that don’t have any consideration for production. There was a little bit of that here and there. We’re actually achieving bigger scope by being smarter about how we balance the scope, if that makes sense. The show gets bigger and bigger and bigger, season to season, which is insane and very difficult to accomplish. We’ve definitely learned where to pull back and how to navigate what’s producible. In comics, there are things that are easy to draw and there are things that are hard to draw, and I know what those things are. I can write to those things. I can go, “Okay, I’m going to make him spend two extra weeks on these pages. I’m going to make him spend two less weeks on these pages.” I can balance that. I feel like I’m getting to a point where I can do that in animation, too, which I was incapable of doing for the first few seasons. Invincible Season 4 returns to Prime Video in 2026.

Invincible

Release Date

March 26, 2021

Network

Amazon Prime Video

Franchise(s)

Invincible