The Boys season 4: everything we know so far

When is The Boys season 4 set to debut on Prime Video? Not for a while yet, dear reader.

That’ll be disappointing news to those of you who adore one of the best Prime Video shows around – but there is some good news for anyone with The Boys withdrawl symptoms. Gen V, a college-based spin-off show set between seasons 3 and 4, is out now – and you can read our spoiler-free thoughts on whether it’s as outrageous as its parent show in our Gen V review.

While we wait for The Boys‘ fourth season to air on one of the world’s best streaming services, there’s plenty of reading to do on it. Below, you’ll find more information on its possible launch window, confirmed cast, possible storylines, the show’s future, and more.

Full spoilers follow for The Boys season 3. Potential season 4 cast and plot spoilers are also incoming.

The Boys season 4 release date: what we know

The Boys season 4 doesn’t have a release date. It was greenlit by Amazon Studios in June 2022 and, after a near-nine-month shoot, wrapped in April 2023.

Season 4, then, is well into its post-production phase, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be with us any time soon. The Hollywood writers strike, which has finally ended after five months of bitter stand-offs, impacted its development. Meanwhile, the actors strike is – at the time of this guide’s late September update – still ongoing, so the series’ stars won’t be able to promote season 4 for a while yet. In short: don’t expect The Boys to crash back onto our screens in the near future.

Still, while we wait for an official release date announcement, showrunner Eric Kripke has recently dropped two interesting pieces of information. The first? The title of season 4’s first episode:

Kripke also revealed the season 4 finale’s title, which could mean the death of any number of individuals. As we allude to in our plot section below, we think it’ll involve the demise of one specific character.

The Boys season 4 cast: confirmed and rumored

Major spoilers follow for The Boys season 3.

Here’s the confirmed cast for The Boys season 4 so far:

• Karl Urban as William ‘Billy’ Butcher
• Jack Quaid as Hugh ‘Hughie’ Campbell
• Erin Moriarty as Annie January/Starlight
• Anthony Starr as Homelander
• Laz Alonso as Mother’s Milk
• Tomer Capone as Frenchie
• Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro
• Jessie T Usher as A-Train
• Chace Crawford as The Deep
• Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett
• Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir
• Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman
• Cameron Crovetti as Ryan Butcher
• Simon Pegg as Hugh Campbell Sr
• Valorie Curry as Firecracker
• Susan Heyward as Sister Sage
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan as TBA

Of the above, the first 11 actors – all of whom have appeared in the first three seasons – are back as their respective characters.

The only curious inclusion among that contingent is Mitchell, whose superpowered individual Black Noir was killed by Homelander in The Boys season 3 finale. However, speaking to Entertainment Weekly (EW), Kripke strongly hinted Mitchell will be back as Black Noir 2.0, adding: “A character who is completely silent and in a black mask can be recast” and “It’s definitely not the last we’ve seen of Black Noir as a hero”.

Elsewhere, Doumit is back as Neuman, who – as revealed in season 3’s final entry – has been installed as Robert Singer’s running mate for the next US election. Crovetti, who has periodically featured in seasons 2 and 3, has been bumped to series regular  (per The Boys‘ official Instagram account). Additionally, Simon Pegg will cameo once more as Hughie’s dad.

Joining the show’s eclectic cast in major roles are Valorie Curry (Veronica Mars) and Susan Heyward (Orange Is the New Black) as Firecracker and Sister Sage. This duo are new members of the Seven, the world’s number one superhero team led by Starr’s Homelander. Neither character exists in the graphic novel series, so we’ve no idea how they’ll factor into season 4’s plot.

Fresh from his love-to-hate portrayal of iconic Walking Dead character Negan on AMC’s TV adaptation of that comic series, Jeffrey Dean Morgan has also been cast in The Boys season 4. No word on who he’ll play yet.

Rosemarie DeWitt (La La Land, Stand-Off) has been hired to play Hughie’s mom (name TBA). And, for those hoping for Jensen Ackles’ return as Soldier Boy, that remains to be seen (more on why in the next section). The former Supernatural star is eager to reprise the role of Homelander’s dad and human-based weapon of mass destruction, though.

Lastly, we could see some of Gen V‘s young Supes cross over into the main show. Right now, members of the press have seen the first six of its eight episodes, so critics don’t know what its finale will set up in terms of potential character crossovers. However, some of The Boys‘ cast members make cameos – some are unexpectedly great, in our view – in Gen V. Kripke has already teased Tek Knight’s possible involvement in the main show’s next installment – he makes his live-action debut in one of Gen V‘s entries – so we’d rate the latter’s cast’s chances of joining The Boys‘ ensemble ranks as ‘likely’.

The Boys season 4 story speculation

Understandably, The Boys season 4’s overarching narrative is a closely guarded secret. Based on how season 3 ended, however, and some clues delivered by its cast and crew, we have a vague idea of what might occur.

Let’s start with the non-spoiler-filled details. The Boys is renowned for being a boundary-pushing TV show for gore, sex, and outrageously funny perspectives, and it sounds like season 4 will be no different.

Speaking to Collider, Jessie T Usher – who plays A-Train – says the level of carnage in the series’ next installment was “a surprise to everyone”, including Eric Kripke. In fact, The Boys‘ showrunner tweeted that there’s a wildly over-the-top sequence in its fourth season that’s “easily a top 5 moment” for him. Kripke’s comments were echoed by producer Stephan Fleet, who suggests season 4 contains a moment that’s “the most disgusting thing I have seen working in this business thus far.”

Major season 2 and 3 spoilers follow after the tweet below.

But enough of season 4’s potentially hilariously nasty moments. What did season 3 set up for its successor?

Let’s start with Homelander, everyone’s favorite love-to-hate Supe. The Seven’s deranged leader was last seen taking Ryan – his superpowered son – under his wing following the three-way battle between Homelander, the Boys, and Soldier Boy. After Homelander brutally murders a Starlight fan (the fan throws a drink at Ryan during a political rally) and the crowd erupts with delight, the smiles that spread across Homelander and Ryan’s faces paint a very unsettling picture for what’s to come.

Is Homelander about to raise Ryan as his equally callous, unhinged successor? In a chat with IGN, Kripke was keeping schtum, but he did suggest what it could mean for Ryan’s relationship with Billy. 

Remember, Ryan is the illegitimate love child of Homelander and Billy’s deceased ex-wife Becca. At the end of season 2, Billy promised a dying Becca he’d protect Ryan in her absence. However, Billy alienates Ryan over the course of season 3, leading Ryan to disown Billy and seek safety with Homelander. So, season 4 should see Billy and Homelander battle for Ryan’s soul. If Billy wins, his team will have their own Homelander who can go up against his similarly superpowered father. If Homelander is victorious, there’ll be no stopping the pair from assuming dominion over whoever or whatever they want.

Ryan won’t be the only weapon Homelander has heading into season 4. He’s still in command of the Seven, which currently comprises himself, The Deep, and A-Train (even if the latter duo has started to see through Homelander’s charade). With Sister Sage and Firecracker joining the Seven next season, and the addition of Black Noir 2.0, the world’s ‘most popular’ superhero team will be nearly back to full strength.

As for Billy, he’s on borrowed time. In season 3, the Boys’ leader became addicted to V24, an experimental Vought-developed serum that grants its user superpowers for a 24-hour period. Unfortunately for Billy, one of V24’s worst side effects causes a highly aggressive form of cancer to develop in its host. In short: Billy only has 12 to 18 months left to live. True to form, he decides to keep his diagnosis secret from the rest of the group, which is sure to cause its own problem down the line.

But that’s an issue for another time for Billy. Heading into season 4, he has two priorities: the aforementioned Ryan problem and the Boys’ pursuit of Victoria Neuman.

Think back to season 2’s final episode and you’ll recall Neuman was revealed as a secret Supe, whose ability allows her to blow peoples’ heads up. Hughie, who is hired by Neuman when the Boys disband in the season 2 finale, finds this out early in season 3, and digs into her past. In short: he learns Neuman is the adopted daughter of Stan Edgar, Vought’s former CEO. Edgar helped her political rise to power before she betrayes him later in season 3.

With so much going on in The Boys‘ third season, the gang become side-tracked by more pressing issues (namely, Homelander and Soldier Boy). This allows Neuman to infiltrate US Presidential candidate Robert Singer’s – aka Dakota Bob – camp and become his running mate. You know, after Homelander forced The Deep to kill Singer’s former Vice Presidential candidate Lamar Bishop.

Back at base in season 3’s final scene, the titular gang learns of this development and that she’s now in cahoots with Homelander, resulting in Billy stating that Neuman is their next ‘target. Expect Neuman to be one of the individuals that the group target in season 4’s finale episode, aka ‘Assassination Run’, which was teased in Kripke’s tweet in our release date section.

“I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say that we’re definitely working towards a Dakota Bob presidency with Neuman as a secret Vought plant in the vice presidency, and all the complications that ensue from that,” Kripke told GameSpot. “That obviously was probably Garth’s [Ennis] biggest endgame story. Again, it’s not a spoiler to say that. You’ve seen us maneuver the chess pieces into that place so we can start telling that story.”

The Boys don’t just have the incredibly vicious, superpowered Kimiko at their disposal now, either. Annie January/Starlight defected from the Seven and officially joined the group in the season 3 finale, meaning they have more Supes to level the playing field.

That doesn’t mean Starlight won’t have her own agenda heading into season 4, however. As we said earlier, the person Homelander killed near the Neuman political rally was a Starlight fan, so Annie could be gunning for him harder than ever if she learns of this murder (which she surely will). 

The escalating conflict between the two Supes was one of the most fascinating subplots in The Boys season 3, and we’ll certainly see more of it – and its comparisons to the real world’s political climate – in season 4, according to Kripke’s GameSpot interview. As actor Erin Moriarty teased on Instagram, too, season 4 sees Starlight enter her vengeance era. Oh, and she’ll be learning how to master her flying power (as she does in the comics), which was teased in season 3 episode 8, according to a Variety chat with Kripke.

And what of Soldier Boy? Following the climactic battle in season 3’s eighth episode, Ackles’ nuclear-powered human weapon was put back on ice by the FBI. Unless Homelander or The Boys get truly desperate and need him to fight for their cause, we suspect that’s where he’ll stay.

There are plenty of storylines The Boys can adapt from Ennis and Robertson’s graphic novel series in season 4, but we’ll refrain from spoiling anything else. We’ll leave the last word for Kripke, who told Insider that fans shouldn’t worry about the possibility of Homelander subversively winning the day in The Boys season 4 or the wider context of the series.

“The story’s not over,” he said. “Hang out, folks. There’s more story to tell and I’ll make a pledge to you right now that I will not end this series with Homelander winning. So, you can hold me to that.”

The Boys season 4 trailer: is there one?

Unsurprisingly, The Boys season 4 doesn’t have a trailer right now. With the show stuck in its post-production phase, it’s likely we won’t see one for a while. We’ll update this section once one is released.

Will The Boys season 4 get a follow-up?

The Boys hasn’t yet been renewed for a fifth season, but Eric Kripke has confirmed that its fourth season won’t be the show’s final entry. As long as The Boys continues drawing in viewers (which it will do, in our opinion), at least one more season will be in the offing.

There’s more to enjoy in The Boys‘ TV-based universe before season 4 arrives. As we mentioned earlier, Gen V, the main series’ second spin-off, is out now on Prime Video. Billed as a Hunger Games-style, college-based show, it follows the next generation of Supes as they study to become the world’s next batch of superheroes and potential members of the Seven. Without spoiling too much, though, it’s a superhero show wrapped up in a neo-noir mystery thriller. So, what are you waiting for? Go and stream it now!

Elsewhere, The Boys executive producer Seth Rogen hopes Amazon will renew the show’s other spin-off – The Boys Presents: Diabolical – for a second season. The animated anthology series’ first installment arrived in March 2022 and seemed to do pretty well. Speaking to Collider, Rogen confirmed Amazon had bought some scripts for a second season, but there’s no news on if they’ll be produced.

You might also like

• Reacher season 2 – everything we know about the hit show’s next installment
• Invincible season 2 – more superb superhero fare on the way in November
• The Rings of Power season 2 – Amazon’s high fantasy series returns soon