Hold onto your capes, because The Boys is coming back for another season on Amazon Prime Video. The Spice Girls are back to fight against the despicable Homelander and the rest of The Seven.
We’ve flown around the net with our laser eyes to round up everything we know to get you prepared for season four – keep on reading to find out more.
What is the potential release date for The Boys season 4?
The Boys kicked off filming for the new season at the end of August 2022, and has now wrapped filming.
It was originally expected to debut next year, but that date may have been pushed back due to the writers strike, as showrunner Eric Kripke explains:
Amazon has not confirmed when the new season will be airing. For reference, this is when past seasons debuted:
- Season 1 – 26 July 2019
- Season 2 – 4 September 2020
- Season 3 – 3 June 2022
The Boys season four cast – who is returning?
Based on filming pictures and interviews, we know the cast members who are definitely returning. They are:
- Antony Starr as Homelander
- Karl Urban as Billy Butcher
- Jack Quaid as Hughie Campbell
- Jessie T Usher as A-Train
- Erin Moriarty as Annie/Starlight
- Chace Crawford as The Deep
- Laz Alonso as Mother’s Milk
- Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko
- Tomer Kapon as Frenchie
- Cameron Crovetti as Ryan
We also expect to see the return of the following:
- Dominique McElligott as Queen Maeve
- Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman
- Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar
Jensen Ackles has not been confirmed to come back as Soldier Boy, but showrunner Eric Kripke has strongly hinted that we will see more of him in the show.
There are also some newcomers on the block this season. Jeffrey Dean Morgan – best known for The Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy and Supernatural – will be joining, as confirmed on Twitter:
The official Twitter account couldn’t make any promises of Morgan’s wish for tights, so this could mean that he’s not playing a supe at all – we will likely find out more closer to the release date.
Also joining the cast are two new supes. They are Valorie Curry as Firecracker and Susan Heyward as Sister Sage.
What is the plot for the next season?
Spoiler warning for season three of The Boys. If you’re not all caught up on the plot, don’t scroll any further.
One major plot point in the forth season will be the battle over Ryan between Homelander and Butcher. At the end of the season, Homelander introduced Ryan to the public, who got behind the violent actions of the supe when he straight up murdered a Starlight supporter in broad daylight.
Eric Kripke has confirmed this in a interview with E! News: “A lot of the season will be a battle over Ryan… because if Homelander ends up raising and influencing the kids that’s basically a second Homelander with apocalyptic stakes.”
The divide of the public between Starlight and Homelander will also be a major focus for season 4, according to an interview with Kripke for Insider. He said: “…society as a whole is fracturing into these two factions and no one’s listening to each other and the threat of violence just gets worse and worse every day… it’s an appetizer of what all these superheroes are gonna be doing to society in season four.”
Butcher was facing possibly-fatal consequences for his use of the temporary Compound V drug that he took throughout the third season. Kripke expanded on this in an interview with IGN: “He has a very loudly-ticking clock…. he’s going to have to prioritize.
“He’s going to have to decide which of those goals are the most important to him and go after them, whether or not it’s what the CIA wants him to do or the other Boys want him to do. He has to focus on what’s important before he dies.”
The fate of Queen Maeve is also unclear – it appears she has lost her powers for now. But will Homelander take advantage of that and seek revenge after their battle?
Homelander will also have to watch his back for Soldier Boy – his father. It is highly likely that he will wake up from stasis again, and when he does, he will have a score to settle.
Victoria Neuman is also yet to reveal her endgame, so how do her political ambitions fit into all of this? Kripke told IGN that she’ll have to carefully manage her relationship with Homelander going forward. “She’s a character who is always trying to play all sides depending on the situation she’s in.
“The problem is now she’s sort of in league with Homelander, who is the opposite of trying to play all sides. He’s becoming more and more radicalized actually. And so figuring out how she can manage his madness while still protecting her options to maneuver is going to be a challenge.”
Newcomer supes Firecracker and Sister Sage are brand new for the show, so we’re not sure what to expect. However, Kripke has promised “some of the best & craziest ever written”, so we’re in for a wild ride.
How to watch The Boys
If you want to catch up on the first three seasons of The Boys, you’ll need an Amazon Prime Video account. It’s not just entertainment that you’ll get with a Prime account; read more about the benefits of signing up to Amazon Prime.
Not sure whether there are enough shows on Amazon to pique your interest? Have a gander at the best TV shows on Amazon Prime Video and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.
Will there be a fifth season of The Boys?
Amazon has not yet confirmed if The Boys will come back for a fifth season. However, series creator Eric Kripke claims the season 4 is not the end of the show in the following tweet:
Author: Hannah Cowton, Senior Entertainment Writer
Hannah Cowton is a Senior Entertainment Writer at Tech Advisor and Macworld, working across entertainment, consumer technology and lifestyle. Her interests and specialities lie in streaming services, film and television reviews and rumours, gaming, wearables and smart home products. She's also the creator of The London Geek, a geek culture and lifestyle blog.