PLURIBUS Creator Vince Gilligan Breaks Down Why They Brought in That Wild Cameo
Apple TV’s Pluribus has been rolling out some genuinely fun surprises, from a hive mind shoutout by real Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller to a quick vocal reunion between Rhea Seehorn and Patrick Fabian.
The show loves a clever nod, but Episode 6 delivers something on an entirely different level. Out of nowhere, John Cena strolls into the story to clarify one of the series’ most disturbing reveals, and creator Vince Gilligan is more than happy to explain why the moment works as well as it does.
After the chilling cliffhanger of “Got Milk,” Carol follows a trail of discarded cartons to a former dairy plant now functioning as a warehouse for food. What she uncovers there is a gut punch. Vacuum sealed human remains confirm the collective’s appetite is being satisfied through unsettling means.
Episode 6, titled “HDP”, sends Carol to Las Vegas to confront Mr. Diabaté, played by Samba Schutte, who is too busy living out a full James Bond fantasy to show much concern. He already knows the truth about the “eating people” situation, and he cues up a video that will walk Carol through the details. Enter Cena.
Gilligan told Deadline that casting the WWE icon and Peacemaker star came from a simple spark of inspiration. “We just thought, ‘Who better than John Cena to make palatable the idea of eating human flesh, you know?’”
He explained that he first met Cena on the Tampa shoot, which had to be squeezed into the actor’s packed weekend. “Boy, that guy has a schedule. That guy is a busy guy, and he was nice enough to shoot this thing.”
The three minute infomercial works exactly because Cena leans fully into sincerity as he outlines why the collective relies on a formula the show calls human derived protein. The hive mind cannot harm or interfere with living things.
Even picking apples or harvesting wheat violates its core directive, which leaves millions in a dangerous caloric deficit. That forces the group into relying on a shelf stable mixture using stockpiled food and a small percentage of HDP, made from the nearly 100,000 humans who die each day from natural causes or accidents.
“We cherish the memory of these people and appreciate their sacrifice,” Cena says, acknowledging that cannibalism has long been taboo.
He adds that the collective isn’t particularly fond of the practice either. He reassures Carol she will never have to consume HDP and finishes with an almost cheerful explanation that while they would have preferred to share this truth face to face, “we need our space.”
Gilligan still can’t get over how perfectly the cameo landed. “He was just the coolest guy,” he recalled. “And it was one of those things: Who would be someone who would delight the audience when he or she popped up to explain why humanity now lives off of protein from human bodies?
“It’s such a non sequitur, and yet, in a way, it’s not because he just has this personality and with everything that he does you find him likable and you find him trustworthy; you think, ‘Man, I’d like to have a beer with that guy.’
“So why shouldn’t he explain why human-derived protein is the way to go for humanity now? He actually made it sound pretty reasonable, and that was the intention, and it just made us laugh when we thought of having him do it. And luckily, he said yes.”
Once the video ends, Diabaté drops another weight on Carol. Humanity is on track to starve within the next decade. The remaining survivors, aside from a reclusive man named Manousos played by Carlos-Manuel Vesga, have been meeting without her because they see her as too disruptive. Isolated and overwhelmed, Carol breaks down.
The episode twists the knife again when Carol learns the collective has finally figured out how to transform the remaining survivors but requires her consent to undergo a stem cell based procedure. In a raw burst of emotion, she refuses, and when Diabaté tries to smooth things over, she fires back, “F*ck ’em.”
As “HDP” closes, Manousos hits the road after listening to Carol’s tapes, setting up the next phase of the mystery. New episodes of Pluribus drop weekly, leading to the Season 1 finale on December 26.