The Boys has been carving a bloody path through superhero television since 2019. Following a group of anti-superhero vigilantes fighting against the corporate supercomplex run by Vought, it's one of the most unique comic book adaptations we've gotten yet. Prime Video's brutal superhero satire has become a smash hit even spawning its own spin-off in the actually very good Gen V (Which is already renewed for a second season). But if you're craving some mainline Boys action and are wondering when Hughie, Butcher, and the gang will be back for season 4 we're here to try to answer all your burning questions.
Potential Season 4 Potential Release Date
Thanks to updates from The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke we know that the show wrapped filming earlier this year in April. But that doesn't mean that it's finished, in fact in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) Kripke shared some information on how the WGA strikes had impacted the newest season of the show. "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" Now that the WGA has reached a tentative agreement with the studios it's likely the creative team will be able to get back to writing work, though with SAG-AFTRA on strike the actors currently can't return to work so that could likely extend whatever post-production work the show needs to do. But with all of that in mind it seems like a 2024 release is still on the table, though we'd expect it to be closer to the middle of the year.
The Boys Season 4 Cast
When it comes to who is definitely coming back we know that the titular Boys will be there, so that means the return of Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Tomer Kapon, Karen Fukuhara, and Laz Alonso. Then of course we have to have our series big bads so Antony Starr, along with Cameron Crovetti who plays his son Ryan — now a series regular — and Homelander's remaining two Seven colleagues Chace Crawford, and Jessie T. Usher. Speaking of the Seven we also expect to see the women behind two of Vought's biggest baddies appear: Claudia Doumit, and Colby Minifie (who we last saw covering up Vought's misbehavior Gen V.)
While we saw Jensen Ackles return as Soldier Boy in a hilariously strange cameo during Gen V Episode 6’s trip through Cates brain, it's unclear whether or not the Captain America-inspired character will be returning for Season 4.
We also have new cast members including Rosemarie Dewitt as Hughie's mother, and two new supes in Susan Heyward as Sister Sage and Valorie Curry as Firecracker. There are a couple of unknown new castings too, with the biggest being the addition of Jeffrey Dean Morgan alongside Rob Benedict and Elliot Knight will be joining the cast though we don't currently know who any of them will be playing. Then we have a big returning player too in Simon Pegg who along with Dewitt seems to be seeding a big potential family-focused storyline for Hughie.
The return of Simon Pegg is a big deal to comic book readers as not only is the British comedian a legend among genre film fans, but he was also the original inspiration behind Hughie. His casting as the character's dad has always been a nod to that history and with him returning it'll be interesting to see just how much of a role he plays going forward.
The Boys New and Returning Cast
- Karl Urban as Billy the Butcher
- Jack Quaid as Hughie
- Erin Moriarty as Annie/Starlight
- Tomer Kapon as Frenchie
- Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko
- Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk
- Antony Starr as Homelander
- Cameron Crovetti as Ryan
- Chace Crawford as The Deep
- Jessie T. Usher as A-Train
- Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman
- Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett
- Rosemarie Dewitt as Hughie's mother
- Simon Pegg as Hughie's father
- Susan Heyward as Sister Sage
- Valorie Curry as Firecracker
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan
- Rob Benedict
- Elliot Knight
What's The Boys Season 4 Going to be About?
Before we dig into what we can expect from The Boys Season 4, we should mention where we left off. There are some big dangling threads that will definitely play into the new season, so let's get to it. We've already mentioned this above, so we'll start here but last season ended with the reveal that Soldier Boy was Homelander's father and after failing to beat the Boys in a final battle he was put back on ice, his fate and return yet unknown. Homelander killed a protestor in public surrounded by adoring fans, Billy found out that his Temp V use was a death sentence and he only had a year to live, and to top it all off Ryan decided that his real daddy Homelander was the man he wanted to look up to and the battle for his soul will likely be at the center of Season 4. Billy will want to protect his surrogate son for his late wife, while Homelander will be trying to groom him as his own evil mini-me, immensely dangerous superpowers and all.
We left The Boys Season 3 with only three working members of The Seven, with Queen Maeve in hiding and Black Noir murdered by Homelander. That means there are four spots open so don't be surprised to see some new members, perhaps even students from Gen V. When we spoke to showrunner Eric Kripke after the Season 3 finale he teased that aspect would be a big part of future plans for the show. “[Vought] has a lot of rebuilding to do physically and literally with the tower itself, but also with bringing in new members of The Seven,” Kripke said. Who will those new members be? Well, with the events of Gen V, we can guess that potentially Sam (Asa German) and Cate (Maddie Phillips) will likely be up for the top spot thanks to their new allegiance with Homelander. But more on that a little later. Speaking of Homelander we saw both him and Billy Butcher appear in the finale of Gen V and the release of two new posters for The Boys Season 4 hints that the two will be on very different paths going forward. While Homelander appears to be luxuriating in the celebration of success (potentially even some kind of election? Could he be running for President?) We see Billy looking forlorn and downtrodden in the wake of the massive party, so looks like our favorite underdog will be struggling once again, while the evil Supe will be on the up and up.
In other supe-news we expect to see explored, Starlight also got new powers and trashed her costume, so we're expecting to see her take on a new look as well as potentially a new mantle, maybe even just her real name, Annie January. Kripke also revealed that another key thread will be the rise of Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) — the head-popping secret supe — who is currently headed to the White House as a potential Vice Presidential candidate.
One thing is for sure whatever happens Season 4 is going to be really, really gross. In a tweet VFX supervisor and associate producer Stephan Fleet stated "I think I just saw the most disgusting thing I have seen working in this business thus far." That's a pretty huge statement when we consider all the things that we've seen in the first three seasons of The Boys.
That shocking promise also makes sense as with everything going on at Godolkin U and Gen V added to the mix, we can expect this to be the most balls-to-the-walls bonkers and brutal season yet. That appears to be even more true now that we know Godolkin's Dean, Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn), has been creating a virus to kill supes. The massive reveal sets Indira up as a huge antagonist for the Gen V kids, but could also set her up as an ally to Butcher and the Boys who are also trying to neutralize the supe threat. Either way, we can assume that the threat — or usefulness — of the virus will definitely play into Season 4.
When Will The Boys Season 4 Take Place and Will it Tie into Gen V?
Thanks to a recent chat with Eric Kripke at Variety, we now know that The Boys Season 4 will continue directly on from the events of Gen V. "In our minds, it's only a couple of days after whatever the events are of Gen V," Kripke told the trade. That's exciting and makes a lot of sense seeing as we saw both Billy Butcher and Homelander show up in the episode. While Homelander recruited two of the young Supes to his Supe-Premacy cause after they went on a human-killing spree at Godolkin, Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Andre (Chase Perdomo), Emma (Lizzie Broadway), and Jordan (London Thor/Derek Luh) were framed for their crimes by Homelander and Vought and locked away in a secret and terrifying location. We can expect to see Sam and Cate the new "Guardians of Godolkin" become members of the Seven or at sidekicks to Homelander continues his violent and maniacal rise to power.
With Billy Butcher appearing in the show's mid-credit scene we also confirmed a massive theory that we'd been floating for a while, Billy now knows about the virus and the supe-killing formula will be key to Season 4 of The Boys. In a chat with EW, Kripke expanded on the exciting reveal: "Butcher's aware that this virus is out there," he says, referring to the virus Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn) had engineered to kill all supes and that Neuman has now stolen. "We knew that we wanted that to be part of the season 4 story. My writers' room pitched: 'Can we see [Butcher] at Godolkin and find out about the virus?' And then, 'Well, why don't we make that the moment at the end of Gen V so he's hot on its trail?'"
What are you most excited to see when The Boys Season 4 hits screens? Let us know in the comments.
Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.
