If you’re not watching the new season of Mayans MC on FX, it’s time to catch up. Not only is the Sons of Anarchy club rearing its ugly head once again, but a very surprising face appeared in the latest episode. The Mayans’ new season is one of their most turbulent yet, with an internal grudge tearing apart the titular club and seemingly no hope on the horizon.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the fourth episode of Mayans Season 4, “A Crow Flew By”. If you haven’t seen it yet, stop now.
While the Sons of Anarchy approved of going to war with the Mayans over the dead son since Season 2, and the club is currently at war with itself, one of the more interesting moments came in the form of a new character. Introduction. AEW wrestler CM Punk, who also appeared on Starz’ Heels, has officially entered the Mayans MC universe.
At a barbecue with his fellow military veterans, Gilly (Vincent “Rocco” Vargas) sits at the table with a friend from his time in the service, and that veteran is played by none other than Punk. It’s an interesting scene that explores the dynamics of veteran life and will probably continue in some form for the rest of the season. After all, Mayans MC showrunner Elgin James confirmed to GameSpot that this isn’t Punk’s only appearance on the show.
However, what you may be wondering is how on earth this casting came about. It turns out that James and Punk (Phil Brooks) run in the same circles.
“Straight edge, bro,” James explained to GameSpot. “We’re both in the Straight Edge world. We met a few years ago and I was like, ‘Yo, I have to do something with this guy. We have to find something.'”
Fast-forward to Mayans Season 4, and James and his team created this role specifically for Punk. “We actually did this for him,” he said. “We knew we wanted to get into the story with Rocco and do the right thing for the veterans. And then we said, ‘well, what are the right ingredients to tell this story?’ And so this is a perfect opportunity to finally work with Phil. He He is the man”.
And, luckily, it’s just what the show needed. Given Vargas’ history as a soldier in the US Army for more than a decade, it’s important for both James and the actor himself to properly explore the lives of veterans. According to the showrunner, that included Vargas and other veterans who work for the show sharing their stories with the cast on the day of the shoot.
“They knew the weight of what they were going to bring and it was really emotional leading up to that first day of shooting, Rocco talking to him for about an hour,” James said. “We had some other veterans with us that are also on the show that you have to see there. And it’s quite beautiful, they’re talking about their experience coming back and some of the challenges that they face. So the weight was on Punk’s shoulders.” to do this right. And of course there’s no one else you want that weight on because that guy is just a savage. He just brought it, not just physically but emotionally.”
Mayans MC airs Tuesdays on FX.