The Boys star Karl Urban (Billy Butcher) has shared an Instagram post confirming that cameras are now (or soon will be) rolling on the fourth season of the Prime Video series.
Urban is enjoying a drink with costar Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell) in the photo, but Jensen Ackles' comment ("Pour me a double... I'm on my way") has led to speculation that season 4 could see the return of Soldier Boy.
The one-time leader of Payback survived the events of the season 3 finale, but he was incapacitated after going supernova and placed back on ice. We assumed this would take him out of the game for a while since it's hard to imagine anyone from either side taking such a potentially catastrophic risk by setting the amoral Supe free again, but we wouldn't rule out Homelander seeking a reconciliation!
It was revealed that Soldier Boy is actually Homelander's biological father towards the end of season 3, and even though their family reunion didn't exactly go swimmingly, blood is thicker than water - even for a sociopath like Homelander.
Plot details for season 4 are still under wraps, but the first new cast members were recently announced, with Orange Is the New Black‘s Susan Heyward and The Following‘s Valorie Curry joining the fray as rookie Supes Sister Sage and Firecracker, respectively. We also learned that Cameron Crovertti (Ryan) has been upped to series regular, which is hardly surprising after the sinister final shot of season 3.
During a recent interview with Collider, Kripke confirmed that Ryan will be focal point of the fourth season.
"Moving forward, Ryan is a really important part of it. Both Butcher and Homelander have very good reasons to fight over Ryan because the stakes could not be higher. If Ryan goes Homelander's way and then there are two Homelanders in the world, then that's a nightmare for the planet. If Butcher can get Ryan into the light, then that's probably actually the best weapon they have against Homelander. It's always been a show about family, and so much of Season 3 was about fathers, so I think it makes sense that Season 4 is about sons."
Ryan already seems to have chosen "Homelander's way," but that doesn't mean he's beyond saving. Butcher made a major mistake by pushing the easily-influenced youngster away in the false believe that he'd be safer without such a fatalistic father figure in his life, but this completely backfired when Victoria Neuman gave Homelander his son's location.
How do you guys see season 4 of The Boys playing out? Drop us a comment down below.