Somehow after 30 episodes, The Boys on Amazon Prime Video is just as extreme (if not more so) than when it started. I mean, we finally got to see the fabled Herogasm episode, and that will be hard to top.
Even before season three of The Boys finished airing, Amazon Studios announced they officially renewed the superhero (or would that be anti-superhero?) hit show for a fourth season and now, a year and a half later, we’ve finally been given a release date to look forward to.
Season three tied a lot more superhero history into the main storyline and how the narrative of these heroes shaped America’s perception of the past. Many thought of Jensen Ackles’ new character Solider Boy as an American patriot from the World War II era. (Surprise, he was terrible.) Billy Butcher and Hughie Campbell went on a scorched earth tour trying to destroy all the corrupt supes. After using Temp V to gain (temporary) powers and trying to use Solider Boy against Homelander, Butcher is no closer to killing his sworn enemy. If anything, he is worse off than before. Butcher now has a limited lifespan, he pushed Ryan to Homelander, and they lost a superhero ally (who might have had a happy ending).
So where do The Boys go from here? Here is everything we know about season 4.
We have a release date!
It’s been announced that season 4 of The Boys will premiere on June 13, 2024. According to Variety, the season will be eight episodes long. We’ll get three episodes at once to start, and then new single episodes weekly until the finale on July 18.
We’re so excited to have a release day set after such a long wait but also, June feels like a long way off, especially with so many questions left unanswered after the season 3 finale!
The Boys season 4 teaser trailer
The Boys teaser trailer, released in December of 2023, gave us a glimpse of the chaos ahead.
Two new female supes, Sister Sage and Firecracker, join the Seven to replace Starlight and Queen Maeve. It looks like much of the focus will be on the battle between Starlight and Homelander. Sister Sage tells Homelander to let the masses tear themselves apart over the supe war, then he can swoop in and save them. Since Homelander is probably one of those guys always thinking about Rome, he says he can be “just like Caesar.” Jeffrey Dean Morgan makes his first appearance in a suit while talking to Billy Butcher. There will be so much to unpack in the new season. Our most burning question: will The Deep find love with a new octopus?
Who’s in the cast this time around?
Most of the main cast of The Boys survived season three, making it likely most will be returning for another season. These are the major players:
Karl Urban as Billy Butcher
Jack Quaid as Hughie
Laz Alonso as Mother’s Milk/M.M.
Tomer Capone as Serge/Frenchie
Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko
Erin Moriarty as Annie January/Starlight
Antony Starr as Homelander
Chace Crawford as The Deep
Jessie T. Usher as A-Train
Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett
Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman
Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar
Cameron Crovetti as Ryan
Laila Robins as Grace Mallory
Jim Beaver as Robert Singer/Dakota Bob
New supe characters will include Susan Heyward as Sister Sage and Valorie Curry as Firecracker.
There is no word if Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy will be back or not. But I think it is likely that we haven’t seen the last of him, even if that tube he was put into in the season 3 finale looked pretty secure.
Sadly, Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) did not survive Homelander’s wrath. However, showrunner Eric Kripke recently told Entertainment Weekly the same actor would be back playing a new version of the masked hero. It only makes sense that Vought International would quietly replace Black Noir rather than admit another one of The Seven had a tragic ending.
As Maeve (Dominique McElligott) lost her powers and rode off into the sunset with her girlfriend, it remains to be seen if she returns.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan joins the cast for season 4 as a new character. Both the actor and showrunner Eric Kripke have discussed Morgan joining the show. They (along with Jensen Ackles and Jim Beaver) worked together on the series Supernatural. Morgan was supposed to join the cast in season three, but because of COVID-19 safety protocols for filming, the plan changed. His character hasn’t been confirmed, but rumors on the internet say he might be playing an informant from the comic book known as Monkey.
What will this season be about?
The official synopsis for The Boys season 4 reads:
In Season Four, the world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son and his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late
I have a feeling that Butcher will really push things in season four (like he hasn’t before). With a limited time left in his life, he has even less time to take out Homelander. And his secret weapons of Temp V and Soldier Boy seem to no longer be options. Plus his plan to keep Ryan safe has backfired big time. So not only does Butcher need to take out Homelander, but he has to not make Ryan Homelander 2.0 in the process.
Many of the team relationships have gotten stronger over season 3. Hughie and Butcher have a growing closeness. (I’m not buying the “brother” angle.) M.M. and Annie turned out to make a great team, and the world needs more of Frenchie and Kimiko. The rest of the team made it clear that they are a team, not just soldiers awaiting Butcher’s instructions. At least the crew will be stronger heading into their next battle, and Annie appears to be joining up as officially one of “the boys.”
The last part of season three showed secret supe Victoria Neuman joining Robert Singer’s presidential ticket, making her one of The Boys’ top priorities to take out before she can gain more power in the White House. That is easier said than done.
One thing’s for sure about this next season of The Boys: It will be completely off the wall.
(feature image: Amazon Studios)
