The Boys season 3 welcomes a Hollywood A-lister for an electrifying cameo
Warning: This article contains spoilers from The Boys season 3 premiere.
Let's reiterate the above warning: there will be major — and we mean major — spoilers from The Boys season 3 from here on out, including from the first 60 seconds of the premiere episode. So, if you haven't watched and prefer to go in fresh, click away.
Showrunner Eric Kripke and his stars have been keeping a major season 3 casting secret under wraps for months, and it was finally revealed within the opening minute of season 3's first episode. Oscar winner Charlize Theron joined the season as Stormfront. Well, a version of Stormfront.
Kripke and his writers like to use the world of The Boys to satirize our own culture, including superhero culture. Season 2 introduced Dawn of the 7, an Avengers- and Justice League-esque movie-within-the-show that the members of the Seven — including the team's newest addition, Stormfront, played by Aya Cash — were filming together.
However, the season 2 finale saw Stormfront's Nazi origins leaked to the public. After that, there was no way the corporate overlords at Vought were going to let her feature in their big blockbuster tentpole. So, as revealed in the season 3 premiere, Vought replaced her with Theron and turned the Stormfront character into the Nazi villain of the movie.
Amazon Prime Charlize Theron makes a surprise appearance in 'The Boys' season 3 as Stormfront in 'Dawn of the 7.'
Adding to the comedy is the fact that, mere weeks ago, Theron appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a surprise cameo. The actress showed up in one of two end-credits scenes as the comic book character Clea.
Theron seems to be having fun with the inherent absurdity of her Stormfront dialogue.
"You'll always be in my heart, but the Fourth Reich is in my soul," she tells Homelander (Antony Starr). "Join me and we can reign together for a thousand years."
The history of Dawn of the 7 in the show is... complicated. It was meant as a fake dramatization of the Seven's origins, uniting Homelander, Stormfront, Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), A-Train (Jessie Usher), and Translucent over a common threat.
The fake posters Amazon made for Dawn of the 7 also teased appearances by Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore), an Agent Coulson-esque character named Agent Pearson (Greg Grunberg), Ruby the Hacker (Lovina Yavari), a supe named Mr. Marathon, and Seth Rogen as the voice of Translucent.
There's a lot going on, plot wise. An early script, as seen through storyboards in season 2, featured a villain called Martinez, who appeared to be an international crime lord. Then there were mutants attacking New York City. And now in the final cut, Stormfront is the real villain of the movie.
Amazon Prime Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Homelander (Antony Starr), Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), and A-Train (Jessie Usher) star in 'Dawn of the 7' in 'The Boys' season 3.
Adam Bourke (P.J. Byrne) was the filmmaker hired to direct and write the thing, though the script got rewrites from Joss Whedon — a playful nod to how Whedon took over directing duties on Justice League after Zack Snyder. Ashley (Colby Minifie) also mentions when she's hooking up with Adam in the bathroom that Tony Gilroy had to come in and reshoot all his work. (Outside the show, Gilroy, the screenwriter of Michael Clayton, was hired by Lucasfilm to oversee reshoots of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.)
The season 3 premiere of The Boys also explains that the whole "Stormfront's a Nazi thing" nearly forced Vought to scrap the movie entirely or premiere it on the Vought+ streaming service, but fans started spreading a #ReleaseTheBourkeCut hashtag campaign that saved the movie — another reference to the #ReleasetheSnyderCut campaign that led to Zack Snyder's Justice League on HBO Max. Snyder himself got in on the fun of The Boys and gave his blessing in jest.
"Congratulations to Director Bourke. Excited to see your vision realized," Snyder tweeted when Amazon released a fake trailer for the fake movie.
Congratulations to Director Bourke. Excited to see your vision realized. https://t.co/iPB3SFRqpa
— Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) May 20, 2022
Amazon marketed Dawn of the 7 like a real movie, setting up an official website and releasing a plot synopsis.
"When darkness descends on the world, and it seems all hope is lost, seven heroes will rise," the logline reads. "Seven who will stand. Seven who will fight. Seven who will restore light and hope, and see the sun rise on a new era. This is the true story of the greatest superhero team the world has ever known. This is the Dawn of the Seven."
Watch footage from Dawn of the 7 in the opening minutes of The Boys season 3 premiere, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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