EntertainmentTVSuperhero ShowsThe BoysThe Boys showrunner shares his reasons for bringing back Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy in season 5: “Despite his tragic ugliness, we thought we should give him a shot"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentTVSuperhero ShowsThe BoysThe Boys showrunner shares his reasons for bringing back Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy in season 5: “Despite his tragic ugliness, we thought we should give him a shot"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Amazon Studios)
Probably the biggest news to come out of The Boys panel at San Diego Comic-Con, aside from thenew Boys spin-off, has to be the fact thatSoldier Boy is returning to play a central roleonce again inThe Boys season 5. But showrunner Eric Kripke says there is a reason behind his return, and it’s all to do with his son Homelander.
“You know, what we realized was we really hadn’t explored the father-son relationship much between Homelander and Soldier Boy,” Kripke tells Gamesradar+ at SDCC 2024. “There’s a lot of material there, how soldier boy feels about Homelander, how Homelander feels about his dad, and so we really wanted to dig into that relationship.”
But it seems like the two will bury the hatchet in season 5 as, despite getting off on the wrong foot on their last meeting, Homelander and Soldier Boy do share a common enemy: Billy Butcher. “Soldier Boy is really driven to kill Butcher after Butcher betrayed him in season 3,” reveals Kripke. “So he’s just an excellent antagonist, to switch sides and basically, you know, to be with the supes.”
But besides Soldier Boy’s reasons for returning, it is undeniable that the retro Supe is a fan favorite and was sorely missed fromThe Boys season 4,until we got to see a tiny glimpse of him in a cheekypost-credits scene. And the love was shown at SDCC too, when the crowd went wild as Ackles took to the stage. “We were just really excited to bring him out. And, you know, Jensen, despite his tragic ugliness you know, we thought we should give him a shot,” jokes Kripke.
The Boys seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Prime Video right now. The Boys season 5 isset to air in 2026. For more, check out theSDCC 2024 live blog, or see our list of thebest shows on Prime Video
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