‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ Star Opens up About Shocking Death: “I Never Saw It Coming”

The final season of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ has been pushing its characters toward a brutal ending, and the latest episode delivered one of the show’s biggest emotional blows yet. The penultimate episode killed off three major characters, including Uncle Marvin Thomas, who was played by London Brown.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Brown opened up about Marvin’s unexpected death and admitted that even he did not know how the character’s story would end. The actor said he was surprised when he learned that Marvin would be killed by Kanan Stark himself, played by Mekai Curtis.

“I didn’t see that coming,” Brown told PEOPLE about the shocking twist. “I didn’t know Marvin was going out like this. I’m just glad it lasted this long.”

Marvin’s death came during a tense final scene inside a church. Before Kanan arrived, Marvin had secretly left a briefcase full of money with a priest, hoping it would eventually reach his daughter Jukebox if something happened to him.

When Kanan entered the church, Marvin immediately understood why his nephew was there. Instead of begging for his life, Marvin accepted what was coming and confronted Kanan about the person he was becoming.

Marvin warned Kanan that he would eventually regret his actions, telling him that he would become emotionally empty and end up alone. He then challenged Kanan to make the choice and pull the trigger before anyone returned.

Kanan ultimately shot Marvin, completing another step in his transformation into the ruthless figure fans know from the original ‘Power’ series.

Brown explained that the scene worked because it was not a typical action-heavy death sequence. Instead, it focused on the complicated relationship between uncle and nephew.

“It’s nice. As opposed to it being some major shootout, it’s just one-on-one. It’s intimate, it’s quiet, and it’s just those two,” Brown said.

Although Brown does not consider it a major regret, he admitted there was one small thing he wishes he had added to Marvin’s final moments. If he had another chance to film the scene, he said he would have changed one detail.

“If I had to do another take, I wanted to flip Kanan off right on my last breath. I would’ve done that,” Brown shared.

The actor also praised the decision to have Kanan be the person responsible for Marvin’s death. According to Brown, having another character kill Marvin would not have carried the same emotional impact.

“It just really shows how menacing Kanan is,” Brown said, adding that he believed the writers made a powerful choice with the storyline.

Throughout the five seasons of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan,’ Brown said he always knew that no character was completely safe. He explained that he never assumed Marvin would survive until the end.

“I didn’t trust anything. Every day, I was just glad to be employed,” the actor said.

With the series finale arriving on Aug. 7 on Starz, Brown revealed that he is just as curious as viewers about how the story will end. He said he focused only on Marvin’s journey and avoided worrying about parts of the story he could not control.

After five seasons, Brown believes the emotional reaction from fans shows how much audiences connected with Marvin and the rest of the Thomas family.

“At the end of the day, I’m just glad they trusted me with the part, man. I didn’t want to waste anybody’s time,” he said. “The fact that people feel so emotionally invested — I’m glad they care that much.”

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