As has become something of a tradition, The Boys star Karl Urban has marked the start of production on season 5 of the Prime Video series by sharing a set photo of his character, Billy Butcher, covered in claret.
A blood-splattered Butcher is not exactly a rare sight in The Boys, but following the events of the season 4 finale, this shot might just have even more sinister connotations than usual.
Butcher has always been a morally flexibal guy, but when we last saw him he had fully embraced his dark side (manifested by the late Joe Kessler), killed Victoria Neuman (to be fair, her share of head-popping probably warranted some karma) and set off on his own to begin a Supe genocide.
This left the rest of the team on the run, with everyone bar Annie January/Starlight rounded up by Homelander's forces, while the now unopposed leader of the Seven moved one step closer to world domination.
While speaking to TV Guide about his plans for the final season earlier this year, Kripke was asked if he's already decided who is going to survive and who will come to a no-doubt messy end.
"Anyone who dies in season 5 will richly deserve it. We have a certain sense of who live and who dies, but we don't have it all totally figured out. But you get to do the final season of a show and go out on your own terms, so not everyone's making it through."
Potential spoilers follow.
In the comics, pretty much every major character aside from Hughie and Starlight dies, with Billy Butcher ultimately becoming a full-blown villain and taking out most of his own team. The Prime Video series has never been a particularly faithful adaptation, however, so we can't see Kripke being quite so merciless.
Yes, Butcher did embrace his darker side in the season 4 finale, but if he does go down - and we'd say both him and Homelander checking out is a given - there will surely be some redemption involved.
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"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.