The Boys is returning for Season 4, here's everything we know so far including the release date, cast, plot, and the answers to more of the biggest questions.
As the superhero craze continues across Hollywood, primarily through Marvel and DC, Amazon has been putting its own stamp on the genre through The Boys, a far more twisted take on a world filled with super-powered people.
The Boys found great success in its first three seasons of violence, comedy, and superhero action as Karl Urban's Billy Butcher and his gang of misfits strive to take down Vought, Homelander, and the Seven.
Just as the show itself parodies Marvel and DC's biggest heroes and the tropes of the superhero genre, The Boys' social presence reflects that in poking fun at Spider-Man: No Way Home and Morbius' embarrassing re-release.
The Boys Season 4 Release: When Will It Come Out?
As Amazon will already return to the world of The Boys this year in Gen V, Season 4 won't debut until 2024, especially since filming for the next batch of outrageous episodes only just wrapped up in April.
Regardless, despite filming having concluded, showrunner Eric Kripke confirmed on Twitter in June that development had been halted due to the writers' strike, which has since come to an end with a fresh deal with the studios:
"#The Boys update! 1) When #Season4 drops depends on how long the #WGA Strike goes. No answer yet. Tell the studios to make a fair deal!"
Explaining the hold-up Kripke noted The Boys records some of its dialogue during post-production to "help bridge story gaps or clarify a plot point." He also noted dialogue will be cut together in different ways during editing, which is technically considered writing:
"There's a good amount of dialogue we write in post that the actors come back to record (called ADR), to help bridge story gaps or clarify a plot point. We'll also edit dialogue together in different ways to 'rewrite' it. Writing at every stage of the process. #WGAStrong"
As the writers' strike has now concluded, some of that editing work Kripke mentioned can now proceed, however, the additional dialogue won't be able to be recorded until the actors' strike reaches its own end.
Looking at the past three seasons, The Boys debuted its new seasons around 10 to 11 months after the end of filming, but the impact of the Hollywood strike may well extend that process beyond what is usual.
As such, Season 4, at the very earliest, could premiere in March, but will more likely arrive sometime in the summer, thus leaving a sizable gap between the release of the Gen V finale in November and The Boys premiere.
Based on the past three seasons, fans shouldn't expect to be able to binge The Boys Season 4 in one go, as new episodes will likely drop on a weekly basis.
Who’s Cast in The Boys Season 4
The Boys continues to sport a star-studded cast going into Season 4, with the majority of the series' stars and characters returning for more hectic action.
A surprising inclusion comes as Nathan Mitchell returns as a new Black Noir after his original version of the masked hero was killed by Homelander in Season 3.
The full list of returning actors from past seasons of The Boys can be read below:
- Karl Urban - Billy Butcher
- Jack Quaid - Hughie Campbell Jr.
- Laz Alonso - Marvin T. "Mother's" Milk
- Tomer Capone - Frenchie
- Karen Fukuhara - Kimiko Miyashiro
- Erin Moriarty - Starlight
- Antony Starr - Homelander
- Jessie T. Usher - A-Train
- Chace Crawford - The Deep
- Nathan Mitchell - Black Noir II
- Colby Minifie - Ashley Barrett
- Claudia Doumit - Victoria Neuman
- Cameron Crovetti - Ryan Butcher
- Simon Pegg - Hugh Campbell
The Boys is set to welcome some new faces with Season 4, including Susan Heyward and Valorie Curry as new supes Sister Sage and Firecracker. Jeffrey Dean Morgan will also be coming to the show in an unknown role, while Rosemarie DeWitt will debut as Hughie's mother.
All six of the new cast additions confirmed for Season 4 so far can be seen below:
- Susan Heyward - Sister Sage
- Valorie Curry - Firecracker
- Rosemarie DeWitt - Hughie's Mother
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan
- Elliot Knight
- Rob Benedict
It's unclear whether Giancarlo Esposito's Stan Edgar will be back following his forced exit from Vought, although Eric Kripke has implied he will sit out this season while leaving the door open to a return down the line.
In terms of Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy, who played a starring role in Season 3, he is currently held in stasis in a secure facility, with it unclear for now whether he will make his way into Season 4.
What Will Happen in The Boys Season 4
Showrunner Eric Kripke confirmed Season 4 will, at least in part, revolve around Butcher and Homelander's fight over Ryan who was last seen with his crazed supe father at the end of Season 3.
Homelander appeared to realize in a terrifying moment to close last season how he could get away with anything in the eyes of the public, leaving the question of just how unhinged he may go in Season 4 as he looks out for his son.
Meanwhile, in terms of Butcher, the leader of the Boys just found out he is dying due to his overuse of Temp V with just over a year to live. But as he opted not to tell anyone of his diagnosis, that secret will likely unravel across Season 4.
Another major plot point for Season 4 comes with the rise of congresswoman Victoria Neuman - a supe with the power to kill anybody in an instant. With Neuman now on the path to the White House and the Vice Presidency, she will undoubtedly be a threat to Vought and the Boys alike.
The Boys Season 4 has already been confirmed to bring in two new superheroes with Sister Sage and Firecracker, along with introducing a new Black Noir. These supes could all be taking up positions on the Seven, as the team was only left with Homelander, A-Train, and the Deep after Season 3.
It's unclear if any of the events of Season 4 will spin out of the upcoming Gen V spin-off which will dive into a new group of young superheroes at Vought's Godolkin University School of Crimefighting in an X-Men-inspired series will all the outrageousness of The Boys.
Who Does Jeffrey Dean Morgan Play in The Boys Season 4?
The Walking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan comes as the biggest and most exciting addition to the cast of The Boys Season 4. Butcher actor Karl Urban offered a peek at Morgan's mysterious character on the set of the upcoming season as he celebrated the end of production, with the mystery man suited up to perfection.
Exactly who Jeffrey Dean Morgan will play in Season 4 remains under wraps at this time. However, the biggest rumors and theories have had him playing Tek Knight - The Boys' parody of Iron Man - who was referenced several times before in past seasons of the Amazon superhero series.
But those ideas seem to have been debunked by the official Twitter account for the Gen V spin-off, which noted Preacher actor Derek Wilson will appear in Episode 4 as Tek Knight, leaving Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character a mystery.
Is Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy in The Boy Season 4?
During the Season 3 finale, Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy was beaten down by his superhero son Homelander and The Boys. After his devastating loss, Soldier Boy was taken away by Grace Mallory and left sedated in a secure facility, leaving his Season 4 return chances somewhat uncertain for now.
The decision to keep Soldier Boy alive makes it clear The Boys team is leaving the door open to his return, but whether that will come in Season 4 is anybody's guess. But whenever he does return, there will undoubtedly be plenty of chaos to come as he didn't exactly depart on great terms with either The Boys or The Seven.
Regardless, fans will see Soldier Boy at least once more later this year as the veteran hero will officially return for a cameo in the upcoming Gen V spin-off, as confirmed by Ackles - via TikTok user thehufflepuffhunter - during a Supernatural panel at Creation New Orleans in Louisiana:
“Soldier Boy pops up for a brief moment in this new spinoff, ['Gen V']. In fact, there’s a few cameos from the mothership that come into this spinoff, and my little bit there was heavily [improvised].”
Will The Boys Season 4 Crossover with Gen V?
The Boys universe recently expanded on Amazon Prime in a major way with its first live-action spin-off Gen V. The Godolkin University-set show marks the second spin-off in the franchise, following the premiere of the animated anthology series, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, last March ahead of the Season 3 premiere.
In its first three episodes alone, Gen V featured massive connections to The Boys universe through cameos from several members of the Seven - most notably A-Train and The Deep - along with references to many other heroes from the show.
As Gen V has closely linked itself to The Boys universe with appearances from some of its key players, it's easy to see Season 4 bringing more crossover.
Both anti-supe politician Victoria Neuman and Vought CEO Ashley Barrett have roles in Gen V, so it's easy to see how the show may lay the groundwork for what's to come next for their characters on the flagship show.
Victoria Neuman actress Claudia Doumit already confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Gen V will "tee up a lot of stuff" for Season 4 of The Boys, as gives "a lot of information" that will be "built on" in the new season:
"It was great to shoot Gen V because they tee up a lot of stuff that's going to happen in season 4 for The Boys. Gen V lays a lot of the groundwork and a lot of the foundations that season 4 will be built on for The Boys. So, watch it because it gives you a lot of information."
One also has to wonder if some of the students of Godolkin may get involved in Season 4 in some way, such as Gen V lead Maire Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) as she was already referenced in Season 3 with a file at the Red River Institute.
As of now, it's unclear what the future will hold for the cast of Gen V, as no appearances have yet been confirmed from its cast for The Boys Season 4, and the teen-centric spin-off hasn't been renewed for Season 2.
Will The Boys Season 4 Be the Last?
The Boys Season 4 will release just a short while after the brand-new college spin-off Gen V, indicating Amazon has aspirations to continue expanding this world further, and not to bring it to an end anytime soon.
Showrunner Eric Kripke has already all but confirmed on Twitter that The Boys will be back for Season 5, stating how the Season 4 finale is "not the series finale" and promising "there will be more:"
"Cause you're asking! We've been shooting since late August. I'm here to prep & direct the Season 4 finale. No, not the series finale, there will be more! Most importantly, S4 premieres... at some point in the future in our discernible reality."
So, while Amazon has yet to formally renew The Boys for Season 5, with Kripke seemingly still on board to continue and the show still being a hit with fans, Season 4 almost certainly won't be the last.
The Boys Season 4 has yet to set an official release date but is expected to arrive in early 2024 on Amazon Prime Video.
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