Tuesday, 1 June 2021

The Boys season 3: release date, cast, plot and more

Spoilers follow for The Boys season 2 and the comic books.

The Boys season 3's production is moving along nicely ahead of its release on Amazon Prime Video. We don't know when the next instalment of the live-action superhero TV adaptation will arrive, but that won't stop us from speculating on everything to do with the R-rated superhero show.

As filming continues, we've been receiving snippets of new information, too. The latest comes by way of Jack Quaid (Hughie), who teased the possibility of hugely shocking moments to come in The Boys season 3. Jensen Ackles, who will portray Soldier Boy in season 3, also hinted that we'd get a first look at how his character looks very soon.

Below, we've assembled everything you need to know ahead of The Boys season 3 in this hub. We cover when season 3's release date may be announced, which cast members are returning (and those new additions, too), its possible plot, how many seasons it might get and more.

A word of warning before we begin: we'll be dealing with huge spoilers for The Boys seasons 1 and 2, as well as diving into the graphic novels. If you don't want any of that ruined for you, it'll be worth turning back now.

Cut to the chase

  • What is it? The third season of Amazon's hit R-rated adaptation, based on Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s satirical superhero comic book series.
  • Where can I watch it? As with the previous seasons, The Boys season 3 will be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
  • When can I watch it? A launch date is still TBC, but don't be surprised if it doesn't arrive until 2022.

The Boys season 3 release date: 2022?

The Boys season 2

(Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)

The Boys season 3 is not only happening, but production on the next instalment begun a while back.

That's not a huge surprise, given how popular The Boys season 2 was. According to Business Insider, The Boys became the first non-Netflix series to debut on Nielsen’s list of the top streaming shows, but it's still pleasing to see that we'll be getting more adventures involving Billy Butcher and the gang soon.

Back in February, showrunner Eric Kripke revealed that principal photography on The Boys season 3 would begin on February 16. That means, at the time of writing, the next entry in the series is almost three months into production.

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With plenty of filming already in the can, it shouldn't be too much longer before production wraps on season 3. In fact, according to the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) website, season 3 is schedule to wrap in late August.

That appears to be confirmed as much by star Karl Urban, who plays Billy Butler, too. Taking to Instagram on May 17, Urban uploaded an image of himself, Jack Quaid (Hughie) and new boy Jensen Ackles (Soldier Boy), and revealed that the cast and crew are halfway through production on season 3.

If we take Kripke's earlier comments about a February start date into account, that means that principal photography on season 3 will last six months. That means that The Boys season 3 is, as IATSE revealed, on track to finish in August.

Check out Urban's post below:

A post shared by Karl Urban (@karlurban)

A photo posted by on

Even if that's the case, though, we shouldn't expect The Boys season 3 to arrive any time this year. There will be lots of post-production to carry out, editing every episode so that they flow naturally, potential reshoots if the Covid-19 pandemic gets in the way and other possible TV show production issues.

If we had to guess, we'd say that The Boys season 3 will get a teaser trailer before the end of 2021, with an official release coming early in 2022. We hope it's earlier than that, mind you.

The Boys season 3 trailer: is there one?

the boys

(Image credit: Amazon)

Not yet. That's expected, however, with the series still in production. Once we get one, we'll update this section.

The Boys season 3 cast: who's returning and who's new?

the boys season 2

(Image credit: Amazon)

There will be plenty of returning fan favorites for season 3, with the below list confirming which stars are set to return:

  • Karl Urban as William 'Billy' Butcher
  • Jack Quaid as Hugh 'Hughie' Campbell Jr.
  • Antony Starr as John/Homelander
  • Erin Moriarty as Annie January/Starlight
  • Dominique McElligott as Maggie Shaw/Queen Maeve
  • Jessie T. Usher as Reggie Franklin/A-Train
  • Chase Crawford as Kevin Moskowitz/The Deep
  • Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk
  • Tomer Capon as Frenchie
  • Karan Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro/The Female
  • Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir
  • Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett
  • Claudia Doumit as Victoria 'Vic' Neuman

The Boys season 3 should also see the return of other supporting cast members, but there's no word on whether they'll appear yet. That list could include Laila Robins as ex-CIA Deputy Director Grace Mallory, Cameron Crovetti as Homelander and Becca's son Ryan Butcher and Giancarlo Esposito as Vought CEO Stan Edgar.

As for new cast members, we already know of one major announcement. Supernatural's Jensen Ackles has been brought on board to portray Soldier Boy, the first ever Vought produced superhero. Kripe and Ackles recently posted an image of the actor arriving at his trailer for The Boys season 3, though he'll have to shave off that beard to play the clean shaven Soldier Boy:

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We dive into what Soldier Boy's arrival could mean for season 3 in the next section. For now, though, just know that his appearance could have big repercussions for the TV series moving forward.

In addition to Ackles' Soldier Boy, Katia Winter (Blood & Treasure) has been apparently been cast as Little Nina, according to Deadline. In the graphic novels, Little Nina is a Russian mob boss who has a penchant for sex toys, so expect more in the way of R-rated content in season 3.

We don't know how Soldier Boy will look in The Boys season 3 yet either, but it appears we won't have long to wait. Ackles took to Twitter ahead of Memorial Day weekend to reveal that an official first look at his character would be "coming soon":

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The Boys season 3 plot: what can we expect from the story?

The Boys

(Image credit: Amazon)

Spoilers follow for The Boys season 2 and the graphic novels.

While season 2 wrapped up plenty of its plot threads, there are still some answers that we need addressing.

One of the biggest concerns Stormfront (Aya Cash), who was severely injured by Ryan Butcher's lazer eye attack in the season 2 finale. The only thing we have to go on, so far, is that Vought boss Stan Edgars says she's "in a secure location". It seems, then, that she could have a role to play in the series moving forward. Whether that's as part of The Boys season 3, however, remains to be seen.

Stormfront’s diminished state means that there‘s a vacancy to join Homelander in the 'Big Bad' department. Now that she’s been outed as the Supe who explodes heads - as seen in the final scene of season 2 - the smart money would have to be on Congresswoman Victoria Neuman.

Of course, that means things could get bad for Hughie. As we saw in the season 2 finale, The Boys have temporarily disbanded, and Hughie has gone off to work for Neuman. We don't know how long it'll be before Hughie cottons onto the fact that his new boss is as bad as, say Homelander, or what Neuman's master plan is. Expect it to be the base on which season 3's plot is built though.

Speaking of Homelander, it appears that The Boys' satirical spin on Superman is going to go off the rails in season 3. Last seen standing on one of the city's tallest buildings and, well, pleasuring himself, Homelander has a maniacal look in his eye. That "I can do whatever the f**k I want!" line he repeats, too, is proof that he's ready to get back at those who betrayed him in season 2. If we were Queen Maeve, Starlight and The Boys, we'd be watching our backs.

Homelander won't be the only Supe who is ready to bring the hurt in season 3, either. Ackles' Soldier Boy is primed to throw the proverbial cat among the pigeons, and his graphic novel backstory hints at some really mature content that's likely to appear in the TV adaptation.

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In the comics, there are two versions of Soldier Boy, and it appears that the TV series has settled on introducing the former. The first generation Soldier Boy is a Supe who becomes a US icon during World War II - think of him as The Boys' version of Captain America - but his backstory isn't as honorable as the general public are led to believe.

As it happens, Soldier Boy ends up killing his fellow Supes, as well as US soldiers, during a mission. Lieutenant Greg Mallory, whose gender was changed for the TV series, winds up killing Soldier Boy for his behaviour in the comics. However, given that this Soldier Boy is alive and well in the TV universe, his backstory and character arc will need to be altered.

The arrival of Soldier Boy also ushers in the the introduction of another superhero group, too - Payback. Dubbed the "second most popular superhero team" behind The Seven, Payback are the team led by the second iteration of Soldier Boy. In the comics, Stormfront is also a member of this unit, so her live-action counterpart already has ties to the TV show's version of Soldier Boy.

Additionally, season 3's first episode it titled 'Payback'. This might be a subtle tease about how Homelander plans to exact revenge on those who turned on him by the end of season 2, but it's much more likely to hint at Payback's arrival. If it does, we could get a flashback episode introduces Soldier Boy, his World War II actions and what he's up to in the present day. That would lead nicely into season 3's main plot, and also act as a novel way to open The Boys' next instalment.

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Regardless of how Soldier Boy is brought into the fold, we do know that his appearance will lead to the inclusion of one of the graphic novels' most shocking plot threads - Herogasm. Without delving too deep into spoiler territory for the comics, Herogasm is a storyline that sees all of Vought's superheroes travel to a remote tropical island to engage in a massive, secret company-organized orgy.

At the time of the graphic novels' publication, Herogasm was considered to be the most controversial moment in the entire series. It contains one particular scene involving Homelander and Soldier Boy having sex, but The Boys season 3 won't include this particular sequence, as Kripke confirmed during a Q&A last October:

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While there will be plenty of risqué moments in The Boys season 3, there will also be plenty of blood, gore and violence. Speaking to Collider about the show's production, Alonso revealed that the upcoming season would be the bloodiest yet.

"I'll put it to you this way," he said when asked about season 3's level of violence. "I was talking to the head makeup artist and she's in charge of ordering the blood — that's one of her many jobs. She told me that all of Season 2... When you talk about bulk, I don't think they used over a gallon of blood in Season 2, believe it or not. Season 3, we're already at three and a half gallons of blood. So that should give you a little indication of where it's going."

Alonso's comments were partly backed up by Quaid, too. Speaking to Inverse, Quaid teased the prospect that "no one is okay" when season 3's story kicks into gear, so we better start preparing ourselves for the worst now.

There are other less important story threads that need some form of resolution in season 3. For one, Compound V - the substance used to give people their Supe powers - isn't being released to the general public anymore. It'll be interesting to see if this is the first and last time that it'll be offered out to the wider population, or if it'll still fall into the wrong hands and lead to the emergence of new supervillains.

Additionally, there's bound to be more infighting among The Seven's members. As the season 2 finale revealed, A-Train and Starlight have been readmitted to the team, but The Deep hasn't. The last time we saw The Deep, he stormed out of the Church of the Collective's headquarters after A-Train was selected for reinstatement over him, so he'll have an axe to grind over that. 

Furthermore, Homelander is still on that team, so no doubt he'll be gunning for Starlight, too. Add in the fact that Black Noir is in a vegetative state after he suffered a peanut allergy in season 2, and Queen Maeve's presence in The Seven, and things could get ugly very fast.

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Finally, we should find out more about a couple of other superpowered beings. First, there's Cindy. She's the telekinetic individual who broke out of the Sage Grove testing facility, and was last seen hitchhiking towards an unknown destination. She seems to be traveling down the 'supervillain' path, so she might end up having a more prominent role in The Boys season 3.

Next, we have the aptly named Love Sausage - yes, the guy with the abnormally long penis who attempts to strangle Mother's Milk at the testing facility. Kripke has teased that Love Sausage may appear in season 3, but we'll have to wait and see what capacity he shows up in.

The Boys season 3: how many seasons will there be?

The Boys

(Image credit: Amazon)

Kripke has revealed that he has planned for five seasons of The Boys. However, the series' showrunner also went to tease the prospect of more instalments than that late last year:

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It's an unsurprising stance to take. Kripke's last TV series before The Boys - Supernatural - was supposed to run for five seasons, too, but ended up finishing with 15 in its back catalog.

Kripke, then, may decide that The Boys needed another season or two after its fifth instalment in order to wrap up its story. There are 72 issues of Ennis and Robertson's comics and, while the TV show has gone in its own direction with how the source material's story plays out, there's enough plot left to tell for at least three or four seasons.

Providing audiences continue to watch The Boys, though, Amazon is likely to renew arguably its biggest TV show for as long as possible, so you can bet on The Boys running for a number of seasons yet.

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