The ending of The Boys season two served as a bit of a reset for the series. The titular boys are no longer on the run and have gone their separate ways. So where does that leave us for the upcoming third season? Here is everything we know so far about year three of Prime Video’s adaptation of the satirical Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson comic book series.
The series’ psychotic Superman, Homelander, is still around and living his best life in Vought Tower. But he has a shadow over his head, as Queen Maeve still has the power to blackmail him. Starlight has been cleared of all charges, and is back in the Seven, as is A-Train. The Boys are essentially broken up as a team. Hughie is working for Congresswoman Neuman and Mother’s Milk has gone home to his family. Butcher Billy has an offer to join a new anti-supes team. And that’s where we left our heroes.
The Boys Season Three Plot
Aside from one comic in particular, we’re still not sure which of The Boys comics the season will be based on, but here’s a synopsis:
It’s been a year of calm. Homelander’s subdued. Butcher works for the government, supervised by Hughie of all people. But both men itch to turn this peace and quiet into blood and bone. So when The Boys learn of a mysterious Anti-Supe weapon, it sends them crashing into the Seven, starting a war, and chasing the legend of the first Superhero: Soldier Boy.
We are pretty sure the season will have something to do with Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit). At the end of season two, Victoria is revealed as a secret supe. She killed all those people in court by making their heads explode. Season two leaves her as appointed czar for the government’s Office of Supe Affairs, and she’s creating a new task force to keep supes in check. In short, what the Boys were doing, only with more money behind it.
What we do know is that Herogasm, one of the wildest stories in the comic series, is happening. Showrunner Eric Kripke tweeted that it’s coming to season three. Herogasm is a story that is exactly what it sounds like. In Herogasm, Homelander tells the whole world that all the super-teams are banding together to combat an alien invasion in space. But what they actually are doing is having an orgy that lasts for days on a remote island, complete with drugs and other debauchery. In the comics, the Boys infiltrate these hedonistic heroes’ getaway. Since they are no longer a team on the series, we’re not sure how this will play out.
Star Jensen Ackles recently commented on the whole Herogasm plot during a panel at SXSW. And wow, does it sound like things will get wild.
Here's Jensen with a reminder that Herogasm is gonna come hard and fast. Exactly three months before your eyeballs are never the same. pic.twitter.com/i7zV2muz0Q
— THE BOYS (@TheBoysTV) March 24, 2022
We also recently received a new The Boys season three tease through The Boys Presents: Diabolical. And if you haven’t watched, we recommend you don’t read on.
The finale episode of The Boys Presents: Diabolical, “One Plus One Equals Two,” is actually The Boys canon. The episode focuses on how Homeander was introduced into the Supes of Seven. And it especially centers on his relationship with Black Noir.
Showrunner Eric Kripke shared with Variety, “The finale is canon, yeah… I thought he [Diabolical showrunner Simon Racioppa] did such a good job with it. I don’t think we had any specific plans going in for it to for sure be canon. But he just did such a good job writing and directing it, that watching it, I was like, ‘This is for sure what happened.’”
Kripke also adds, “There is a certain amount of background setup of really understanding the relationship between Homelander and Black Noir and giving us a deeper understanding before Season 3.”
Of course, our best look at The Boys‘ season three comes from its official teaser trailer.
Among other things, this teaser promises us what we now know is a musical episode.
And we actually heard about it ahead of time.
Glowing eyes, lots of blood, and dancing shoes. It sounds like season three of The Boys has it all.
Behind The Scenes
The Boys‘ creator and showrunner Eric Kripke returns for season three of the show. The Boys is executive produced by Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Phil Sgriccia, Craig Rosenberg, Ken F. Levin, Jason Netter, Paul Grellong, David Reed, Meredith Glynn, and Michaela Starr.
The Boys Season Three Cast
As far as we know, almost the entire principal cast is coming back for the third season. Well, everyone whose character is still alive, that is. That includes Karl Urban (Billy Butcher), Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell), Laz Alonso (Mother’s Milk), Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko), Tomer Kapon (Frenchie), Antony Starr (Homelander), Erin Moriarty (Annie/Starlight), Jessie T Usher (A-Train), Nate Mitchell (Black Noir), Chace Crawford (The Deep), Dominique McElligott (Queen Maeve), Claudia Doumit (Victoria Neuman), and Giancarlo Esposito (Stan Edgar).
Who’s Joining the Cast?
Katia Winter, formerly of Dexter and Sleepy Hollow, will appear in the third season as a character from the comics named Little Nina. In the original books, she’s an extremely short Russian mobster, with ties to Vought. She is most famous in the comics for her very NSFW death scene, which we will not spoil here. But it will be a “wtf” moment that series will have a hard time topping if they attempt to bring it to the screen, that’s all we’ll say.
The biggest addition to The Boys’ cast is Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles, who joins the series as legendary super, Soldier Boy. Much like Homelander is a satirical take on Superman, Solider Boy is the series’ parody of Captain America. He’s the world’s original superhero, and battled in World War II. In the original comics, he was a member of Payback, a rival team to The Seven. According to interviews with showrunner Eric Kripke, Payback will play a big part in season three.
In season three, The Boys will reinvent Payback as less of a rival team to the Seven, and more of as the team that inspired them (Think DC’s Justice Society in comparison to their Justice League). They’ll explore the history of that team and its members from the comics, including Eagle the Archer, Crimson Countess, Tek Knight, Swatto, and Mind-Droid. Another member in the comics was Stormfront.
Per a June 23 report in Entertainment Weekly, The Boys has enlisted three more superheroes for season three. Sean Patrick Flanery, best known for The Boondock Saints, will play a character named Gunpowder. Nick Wechsler of Roswell and Revenge will play Blue Hawk. Finally, Miles Gaston Villanueva of Nancy Drew will play Supersonic. Given that all three heroes (or, more likely, villains of a sort) are original characters without comics precedent, there’s little to speculate on just yet.
On the heels of that announcement, we learned via Variety about the casting of The Walking Dead‘s Laurie Holden. On The Boys, Holden will play comics character Crimson Countess. The version of the character that Holden will play is likely the second Crimson Countess, a member of the aforementioned Payback. We expect that the TV series will expand the somewhat smaller role. We got our first look at Crimson Countess in early November, as she’ll appear in an upcoming segment of VNN.
What About Stormfront?
One of the most notable additions to the Seven in season two of The Boys was Stormfront, played by Aya Cash. She is revealed to be a secret Nazi, with origins going all the way back to World War II. The end of last season saw her fried to a crisp and left without limbs. But she’s not dead. However, Aya Cash confirmed in March to Metacritic that she would not appear in season three, saying, “The Boys comes out on June 3 and I’ll be watching with the rest of you guys, unfortunately. That’s my update.”
The Boys Season Three Release Date
The Boys season three will premiere on June 3.
Originally published on May 7, 2021.