After being (narrowly) defeated and put on ice at the end of The Boys season 3, Soldier Boy made a brief appearance in the recent season 4 finale post-credits scene, and we got confirmation that Jensen Ackles will officially return as a series regular for the fifth and final season during San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend.
The former leader of Payback didn't have much loyalty to anyone but himself, but worked alongside Billy Butcher and the gang for the majority of the third season - even after finding out that Homelander was his biological son.
Unfortunately, Soldier Boy attacking Ryan forced Butcher to betray him, and it sounds like the mega-powerful Supe holds a grudge.
"You know, what we realized was we really hadn't explored the father-son relationship much between Homelander and Soldier Boy," showrunner Eric Kripke tells Gamesradar+. "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."
"Soldier Boy is really driven to kill Butcher after Butcher betrayed him in season 3," he continues. "So he's just an excellent antagonist, to switch sides and basically, you know, to be with the supes."
Soldier Boy joining forces with Homelander may not seem like great odds for Butcher, but we saw how powerful he became when he allowed his dark side (manifested as his late friend Joe Kessler) to take over in the season 4 finale.
Ackles will also co-lead a new The Boys spin-off prequel series titled Vought Rising alongside Aya Cash as Stormfront.
"The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power," reads the official season 4 synopsis. "Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late."
Returning cast members include Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Cameron Crovetti, along with new recruits Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
The first three episodes of The Boys season 4 will be available to stream from June 13th, with new instalments dropping weekly through to the season finale on July 18.