The good news first: superhero satire The Boys is definitely returning for a 4th season. As soon as fans of Homelander and Co. have digested the shocking season 3 finale and the surprising death of a Seven member, the long wait for new episodes will also begin.
Not much is known yet about the already confirmed The Boys Season 4. We took a closer look at the clues about the possible start on Amazon and, starting from the end of season 3, give a preview of which open questions the next chapter of the anti-superhero saga The Boys will have to answer.
The Boys Season 4 is coming?
Good news for The Boys fans: A fourth season of the Amazon Prime series was already announced during Season 3.
The third season of “The Boys” ended with a strong finale that brought some storylines to a close. However, at the same time still leaves plenty of room for another season – which is no wonder, after all, Amazon has already officially announced The Boy season 4 at the beginning of June 2022.
First hints about season 4 of “The Boys” had already given Billy Butcher actor Karl Urban, who said in an interview that he would shoot “The Boys” at the end of 2022 – season 3, however, had long been in the can by then. Later came the confirmation from Amazon – but there is still no official start date. With filming starting at the end of August 2022, there would still be enough time for a season to start in the fall of 2023.
In addition, a series spin-off is planned, which will be about a college for young superheroes. Like the previous instalments, these episodes will be available exclusively on Amazon Video.
The Boys creator wanted to film Netflix hit Sandman
Before the Netflix hit Sandman, The Boys creator Eric Kripke had already wanted to adapt the cult comic book. But Kripke himself thought the adaptation was too bad.
The Boys Season 4: Release Date
Fortunately, the next The Boys break won’t be quite as sprawling as the wait between seasons 2 and 3. Because as Billy Butcher actor Karl Urban revealed in an interview with Collider, filming for the new episodes is already imminent. The cast is already on its way to Toronto, the traditional location of The Boys. Production started in August.
Based on the production time of previous The Boys seasons, filming for Season 4 is expected to last until spring 2023. This would make a launch of season 4 of The Boys towards the end of 2023 on Prime Video quite realistic.
Fans won’t have to do without The Boys content for too long anyway, because Amazon has taken precautions. The spin-off series Gen V is currently in production and is expected to launch on Amazon in the summer of 2023. In it, young supes compete against each other in brutal competitions at a Vought college.
The Boys Season 4: First look at two all-new supes
The 4th season of The Boys announces itself with new images. On display are two supes created especially for the popular Amazon Prime Video series.
The Boys is based on a comic book template. However, after three seasons and a total of 24 episodes, it’s clear that the series’ template won’t last forever. The source material is slowly but surely being exhausted. New ideas are needed. For showrunner Eric Kripke, that’s no problem. He just comes up with new characters.
The Boys Season 4: What the Season 3 finale reveals
The centerpiece of Season 3 was superhero Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), whose brutal vendetta against his former Payback members and pact with Billy Butcher advanced the plot. Now the asshole Captain America spoof is back on hold. Soldier Boy will return – but not until a later date. Will a new guest-supe now become the linchpin of The Boys Season 4?
Even if there is no concrete information about the plot of The Boys Season 4 (and a worthy Herogasm successor), the finale of season 3 with its many twists and turns already sets the course for the sequel and leaves some questions unanswered:
Homelander and the thinned out The Seven
The iconic superhero team The Seven has been mightily thinned out. At the end of season 3, only Homelander, A-Train and Deep are left as members. Now the question is: Will Vought completely mothball The Seven or fill the empty slots with four new Supes?
Homelander’s (Antony Starr) development, meanwhile, continues consistently at the end of Season 3. He kills a civilian in plain sight. His attending Alt-Right supporters don’t care. They celebrate him for his brutal act. Homelander no longer has to pretend to be loved. He can be a murderous psychopath and still be cheered. But what does this mean for his son? Will Ryan soon become a mini-Homelander as feared?
The Boys’ Addition and Butcher’s Approaching Death
Billy Butcher’s temp-v use did indeed have devastating consequences. In the season 3 finale, he receives the grim news: his brain has suffered irreparable damage, reducing his life expectancy to a measly 12 to 18 months. So is Butcher actually going to die soon? That would mean The Boys is moving with dramatically rapid strides toward the series’ endgame. Unless Butcher finds a way to extend his life next season. Maybe with a permanent compound V transformation?
One thing is for sure, though: Butcher’s impending demise adds a tremendous sense of urgency to his Supes-killing mission. Will he now become even more dogged, aggressive and radical against Homelander and other corrupt Supes? There are signs of an exciting development that could make Butcher as unpredictable as his nemesis Homelander.
Meanwhile, the Boys team welcomes Starlight (Erin Moriarty) as an official new member, who has realized that she can be a hero without Seven status and a dazzling costume. By the way, The Boys already have a new target: head-splitter Victoria Newman is (thanks to Homelander’s help) well on her way to becoming Vice President of the United States. The Boys could thus put an even stronger focus on Supes’ influence on politics than before.
Have we seen the last of Queen Maeve?
The public believes Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) made the ultimate sacrifice to stop Soldier Boy. But she survived and, at the end of Season 3, faces a fresh start as a human without superpowers (and without a right eye). The evidence of her survival was destroyed by Ashley. And it seems that in saying goodbye to Annie, Maeve has indeed said goodbye to The Boys.
Maeve got her happy ending and can now devote herself to a quiet life away from the Supes chaos alongside her friend Elena. The Boys now has two options here: The Boys Season 4 could focus on Maeve’s human life and her possible failure at it. Or her touching farewell was final.
More News on The Boys Season 4
The Boys star Erin Moriarty feels “dehumanized” by fan hate
During her time as The Boys actress, Erin Moriarty got a lot of hate as Starlight. Now she has spoken out clearly about it and has received support from her colleague Antony Starr.
The Boys creator with clear message to toxic fans
After The Boys star Erin Moriarty’s statement against personal hostility online, the showrunner Eric Kripke has also responded. His statement against toxic fans could not be clearer.
The Boys season 4: Creator promises “absolutely insane” moment that cost a fortune
The Boys apparently does not let up a bit in the 4th season. That’s what series creator Eric Kripke has now declared. He was particularly happy about one scene.
The Boys Season 4: Trailer
The Boys season 4 trailer has not been released yet, so here are The Boys season 3 bloopers instead.
What is The Boys about (Plot)?
The Boys is the film adaptation of the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis (Preacher) and is about a task force that deals with rioting superheroes anything but squeamish.
Whenever the supes of this world step out of line, misbehave or claim innocent lives in their everyday quarrels, they are at the start to really kick their asses: The Boys.
The Boys are a special unit of the CIA that provides the necessary counterweight in a world populated by superheroes. The Boys, founded by Col. Mallory, are led by English-born Billy Butcher. Other members include the African-American Mother’s Milk, The Frenchman and the selectively silent but extremely brutal The Female (of the Species). The youngest member of the troupe is the salesman Hughie Campbell, who had first-hand experience of the human collateral damage causing activities of the superheroes after his girlfriend was brutally snatched from him and literally flattened.
Superheroes like The Boys get their powers from a mutagenic substance called Compound V. And The Boys make uncompromising use of their powers and the mission to rest…
Background information on The Boys
Initially published by the former independent publisher Wildstorm (a DC subsidiary) founded by Jim Lee and later continued by Dynamite Entertainment, The Boys, co-created by Garth Ennis (writer) and Darick Robertson (artist), ran over 72 issues between 2006 and 2012. Regarding the explicit depiction of violence and sexual denotations, Ennis of The Boys said they become “out-preachers” preachers – a bait that filmmakers swallowed. As early as 2008, the first steps for a film adaptation were to be taken by Columbia Pictures securing the rights for an adaptation.
A first screenplay was developed by the writing team Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, who have worked together several times (R.I.P.D. – Rest in Peace Department, Æon Flux), after commissioning by producers Neal H. Moritz (I Am Legend) and Jason Netter (Wanted). Already since 2010 Adam McKay (Anchorman – The Legend of Ron Burgundy, stepbrothers) was in the starting blocks as a director to bring The Boys to the screen.
Ultimately, the project ended up in the hands of Supernatural creator Eric Kripke and Preacher creators Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen.
The Boys Season 4 Cast: Which actors are in season 4?
Warning spoilers! Many fans had feared never seeing the character again after the death of Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) in season 3. However, series creator Eric Kripke gave the all-clear in an interview and confirmed that Noir will get a successor in season 4, who will again be embodied by Mitchell and wear the same suit. Whether Maeve (Dominique McElligott), who sacrificed herself in season 3, will be back in the new episodes is unclear so far. However, since she is not dead, but has only lost her superpowers, a reappearance is possible.
Kripke confirmed that the series would not end without a reunion with her – but whether this will be in season 4 or later is not yet known. Since the Boys also failed to eliminate Homelander in season 3, a reunion with Homelander actor Antony Starr, Karl Urban (Billy Butcher) and other regular actors such as Jack Quaid (Hughie), Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko Miyashiro) or Erin Moriarty (Starlight) can be considered almost certain. In addition, the long-lived rumor that series star Paul Riser (Stranger Things, Crazy About You) will join “The Boys” as “The Legend” has been confirmed.
