Everything we know so far about The Boys season 3

The Boys became a hit for Amazon when its second season dropped on the Prime Video platform in the summer of our discontent (a.k.a. summer 2020). The R-rated superhero satire from Supernatural creator Eric Kripke held the title for most-watched global launch out of any Amazon original series, it gave Netflix some competition by breaking into Nielsen's top 10 streaming ratings chart for the first time, and its popularity gave way to a spin-off series to further explore this world of corrupt, out-of-control supes. So, where does the show go from here? Towards more mayhem, of course.

With a season 3 order already in the bag, here's what we can expect next.

Filming

Kripke promised to start shooting season 3 in early 2021, and fortunately COVID-19 did not destroy that hope. The showrunner, and some of his cast members, shared new looks from the set on the first day of filming which was Feb. 24.

One pic gives us an unsavory angle of Homelander's golden statue.

Another one, from Karl Urban, shows off Billy Butcher's look. The actor praised the production studios and the crew for "working hard & taking every precaution to ensure our continued health and safety." He added, "Stay tuned. We got some real goodies lined up for ya!"

Erin Moriarty, playing Starlight, shared a selfie with her posing next to Jack Quaid. Quaid, as Hughie Campbell, has a more professional look this time around, which lines up with where we last saw him in the season 2 finale. (More on that below.)

Production wrapped seven months later in September, as shown by photos shared by various cast members.

Premiere date

The Boys will return for season 3 starting June 3, 2022! The last installment of the Seven on 7 companion web series made the news official.

Just like with the season 2 rollout on Amazon Prime Video, the first three episodes will drop on June 3. After that, the show will release one new episode a week with the season finale scheduled for July 8, 2022.

The cast

Jasper Savage/Amazon Studios

The Boys — and The Seven — are back in town. That means Urban, Quaid, Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko), Laz Alonso (Mother's Milk), and Tomer Capon (Frenchie) will return as the covert militia group fighting to keep supes in check with their woman on the inside, Starlight (Moriarty). It also means Antony Starr (Homelander), Jessie T. Usher (A-Train), Chace Crawford (The Deep), Dominique McElligott (Queen Maeve), and Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir) — nut allergy be damned — are also returning as members of The Seven, the world's premiere team of superheroes.

Claudia Doumit, who appeared as Congresswoman Victoria Neuman in season 2, will have an expanded role in season 3. Doumit and Colby Minifie, who plays Vought's frazzled head of Hero Management, Ashley Barrett, have been upped to series regulars.

While it seems Aya Cash's Stormfront was defeated in the season 2 finale, losing your limbs doesn't necessarily mean death these days. Cash teased to EW, "I think they've left the door open, but I also feel like there's not much left of her. She's not technically dead, but I think you'll just have to see season 3 to find out what happened to her, [or] if she's going to be around at all in her smaller form." At the very least, she's inspired a new crop of alt-right zealots, dubbed Stormchasers, that we'll meet in season 3.

Among the cast's newcomers is Supernatural star Jensen Ackles. With the CW drama past its series finale, Ackles moves on over to The Boys in the role of Soldier Boy, dubbed the original superhero who was active during World War II. Another Supernatural veteran, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, was supposed to have some kind of role in season 3, but the pandemic made that seem less likely. Actors had to quarantine before interacting with the rest of the crew on set.

The Walking Dead veteran Laurie Holden will play Crimson Countess, who's a member of Payback, the supe team headed by Soldier Boy.

Three supes have also been added to season 3 as recurring parts. Sean Patrick Flanery of The Boondock Saints fame will play another member of Payback, Gunpowder, whom you might recognize from the second episode of the first season. He's spotted on television as Cherie (Jordana Lajoie) is watching a news report about a mall shooting. "If more people were armed, maybe I wouldn't have to save the day every time," the character says. Actor Joel Gagne played Gunpowder for that initial seconds-long appearance. Miles Gaston Villanueva will then play a supe named Supersonic, Starlight's ex-boyfriend; and Nick Wechsler will play Blue Hawk.

Katia Winter, known for roles on Dexter and Sleepy Hollow, will guest star in season 3 as comic book character Little Nina. In the source material, she's a super-short Russian mobster who loves vibrators. Her death constitutes one of the most shocking moments from the entire comic.

Since The Seven seem to always be down a member or two, season 3 will see the a number of supes vying to fill that spot, including Supersonic.

Kripke confirmed to EW that someone in the writers room "successfully pitched, not an extended return but a return of Love Sausage in season 3. So, there's more Love Sausage on the horizon." Actor Andrew Jackson played the supe with the super-extendable... ahem... love sausage in season 2, episode 6.

A video celebrating the end of filming season 3 revealed that actor Cameron Crovetti, who plays Ryan, Homelander's super-powered son, will return.

We can probably expect other actors to appear, like Giancarlo Esposito's head of Vought International, Stan Edgar, and Laila Robbins as Boys founder Grace Mallory, but that is the confirmed casting.

And finally Matthew Edison, who has been playing Vought News Network personality Cameron Coleman on Seven on 7, is reprising his role in season 3. Coleman, as an anchor for the Fox News-esque media organization, has been lambasting "liberal snowflakes" and "fake news media" through Seven on 7, but now he's getting a new show called The Cameron Coleman Hour.

"Since the very start of The Boys, we've seen Vought's propaganda arm — I mean, news channel — VNN," Kripke said in a previous statement for the web series, which has been offering teases for The Boys in various installments. "We'll be digging deeper into those fair and balanced patriots next season, so as a teaser, we're introducing Seven on 7 with VNN's biggest star Cameron Coleman. The episodes are in-world canon, serving up brand-new information that bridges the story gap between season 2 and 3. So enjoy the hot takes and catheter commercials, just like your parents do!"

The new team

James Minchin/Amazon Studios; Amazon Studios Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy and Laurie Holden's Crimson Countess in 'The Boys' season 3

If Soldier Boy arrives on the scene, then certain other supes aren't far behind. Kripke confirmed to EW that the superhero team Payback will be a major part of the season 3 story.

In the original Boys comics from writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, Payback was the world's second-most-popular team, operating at the same time as The Seven. Soldier Boy, a Captain America–esque character, was technically team leader, but he was constantly disrespected and overpowered by teammate Stormfront, the electrical-powered Nazi supe who is male in the comics but female in the show. Soldier Boy was kind of a weakling in comparison and spent all his time pining for a spot on The Seven.

In season 3 of the show, Payback fills a different function. "[Payback] was The Seven before The Seven," Kripke said. In other words, they were the world's first premiere superhero team during WWII. "We will be exploring the history of that team and all the members in it."

Those members from the comics included Stormfront, Eagle the Archer, Crimson Countess, Tek Knight, Swatto, and Mind-Droid. Already we've seen how some of these characters have taken on various roles in the show. Season 2 featured Eagle the Archer (Langston Kerman) in the present day as a member of the Church of the Collective who recruited The Deep.

Stormfront, who married Vought founder Frederick Vought, was active during World War II when she received the first successful Compound V injection. With her supe powers and extremely long lifespan, she became known as the superhero Liberty during the '70s, but then disappeared from the public. She reappeared decades later under the name Stormfront when she became the latest member of The Seven.

Tek Knight was also name-dropped by Ashley when she referred to a Tek Knight movie premiere. It's unclear how or if these same characters will be depicted as members of Payback in season 3.

Soldier Boy himself was said to have lived till 1982 fighting Nazis in Germany, according to a memorial statue spotted in the second season. Flashbacks seem like the way to go, but as we've learned from Stormfront, supes can sometimes live much longer than we might expect.

The Seven on 7 web series, which teases things to come on The Boys, revealed that Gunpowder is a retired supe who was formerly a member of Payback. So, already, we can expect a different lineup for Payback than the comics.

The season 3 premiere episode, written by Craig Robertson, takes its name from Payback.

Through Stormfront, The Boys season 2 tackled the current climate in America with the public resurgence of white supremacy and alt-right extremism. Through Payback and Soldier Boy, season 3 will explore how the world got to this point.

"There's always been systemic racism and conflict and a lot of ugliness, yet always a fight to make things better," Kripke said. "Certain politicians like to pitch this somehow idyllic 'good old days' where everything was perfect and calm. That is complete and utter bulls---. It was never that way. So, by exploring the history of Vought in the history of America, we get to make some of those points. There was never an America when they say 'Make America Great Again.' It was always a struggle. That's the point. It's a struggle to make things better."

Billy Butcher, the supe?

It's true: Billy Butcher becomes the thing he hates.

It's unclear how it all happens, but The Boys season 3 teaser trailer confirms Billy is getting superpowers, including laser vision and enhanced strength. But that doesn't mean he's going to become a hero.

"That's the dilemma: Does Butcher become a superhero or a super villain?" Urban said in a recent interview with EW at SXSW. "In order to defeat the monster, do you become the monster? And I think that's one of the cool things about this season: Every character is faced with that choice. How far are they willing to go? What line are they willing to cross in order to achieve what they want to achieve? For all the characters on the show it creates a conflict, and it's fun to see who actually ends up on whose side."

New mystery

Amazon Studios

Aside from Soldier Boy, the big twist in the season 2 finale will give way to the main plot for season 3.

In a scene that saw the assassination of the Church of the Collective leader Alastair Adana (Goran Višnjić), Victoria was revealed to be a supe. And not just any supe. She was the one who killed C.I.A. Deputy Director Susan Raynor (Jennifer Esposito), as well as all those people in court when their heads spontaneously exploded. She's now in a greater position of power as the appointed czar for the government's Office of Supe Affairs, and she's sneaking funds to Grace to create a task force designed to keep tabs on the supes. So, what the Boys were already doing, just with more government support.

"I don't want to say too much because there's a certain mystery in season 3 about exactly why Victoria is doing what she's doing," Kripke said. "But, yeah, I think the overall theme of the show is you need to have a healthy suspicion of your authority figures, and that goes for all of them."

The Boys, meanwhile, have since gone their separate ways since all of their crimes were pardoned. Hughie went off to work for Victoria, not knowing her true supe nature; MM reunited with his wife and daughter; Frenchie was determined to take Kimiko out dancing; and Billy is "on the edge as a really fraught character," Kripke teased.

The Seven is also a much different team. Starlight was publicly exonerated and welcomed back after Queen Maeve blackmailed Homelander with a recording from the Flight 37 tragedy. A-Train was brought back, too, but The Deep is still on the outs. With Stormfront gone, Vought will likely look to fill some spots.

"[Homelander's] totally betrayed, insecure, and emasculated," Starr said. "He's been opened up emotionally and burned." Heading into season 3, the only words Kripke gave Starr were "homicidal maniac." "[Homelander's] a homicidal maniac anyway, so I'm not sure what that means," the actor joked.

Herogasm

The Boys cultivated a reputation for bringing some pretty extreme stuff to the screen. Season 1 went inside a club for supes where one Ant-Man-esque hero shrunk down to size and jumped between a woman's legs, while off in the corner a supe with extendable limbs partook in a hot and heavy make-out session with multiple other guys. But nothing compares to what awaits us in season 3 with Herogasm.

Writer Jessica Chou penned the script for the sixth episode, which will adapt the provocative miniseries from the Boys comics.

In Herogasm, Homelander announces to the world that earth's teams of superheroes are joining forces to take on an alien invasion in space. In actuality, they all fly to a remote island for a days-long orgy and drug-fueled party. The Boys must infiltrate this sex haven on a mission. It's unclear how exactly this will translate to the screen, but Kripke feels confident that they pulled it off.

"I've really wanted to do it, but needed to figure out our twist on it, so it's not just an hour of hardcore porn," Kripke wrote on Reddit back in 2019. "But I think we got it!! Super excited about that."

Who will be the newest member of The Seven?

Amazon Vought News Networks' 'Seven on 7'

The Seven can never seem to maintain seven members, thanks to the efforts of The Boys. And who knows if The Deep will ever make his way back into their good graces. So, that leaves two open spots on the team.

According to Seven on 7's January 2022 episode, Starlight will be the host and judge for a new reality competition series called American Hero that will see 10 supes vying for one of those spots. Those supes include Supersonic, Luckless, Livewire, Jetstreak, Europo, Moonshadow, Lonestar, Critter, Silver Kincaid, and Pitstop.

Some of these are recognizable from the comics. Luckless, Europo, Critter, and Silver Kincaid were all members of the team G-Force in the show's source material. Jetstreak was a member of Teenage Kix.

The Boys previously introduced Moonshadow and Livewire through Seven on 7. Moonshadow is a San Diego-based superhero with "a body-positive persona" who landed a cover for Vought Sports' annual swimsuit issue.

Livewire is an electricity-powered supe who notably busted an underground drug-smuggling ring that used children's candy to traffic illegal methamphetamines through the Midwest.

This article will be updated as more information comes to light.

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