'The Boys' Prequel 'Vought Rising' Starring Jensen Ackles, Aya Cash Ordered at Amazon
Jordan Moreau
July 26, 2024 at 8:06 PM
"The Boys" universe is expanding with a prequel series titled "Vought Rising." It will star Jensen Ackles and Aya Cash reprising their "Boys" universe roles as Soldier Boy and Stormfront, respectively.
The new series will be set in 1950s New York. Ackles came on stage during "The Boys" Comic-Con panel Friday and made the announcement, calling the prequel a "lurid pulp saga prequel." Ackles also confirmed he will be returning for "The Boys" fifth and final season, following his cameo in last week's Season 4 finale.
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"We are excited to bring you the next deranged series from the world of 'The Boys,'" "The Boys" creator Eric Kripke and "Vought Rising" showrunner Paul Grellong said in a statement. It's a twisted murder mystery about the origins of Vought in the 1950s, the early exploits of Soldier Boy, and the diabolical maneuvers of a supe known to fans as Stormfront, who was then going by the name Clara Vought. We cannot wait to blow your minds and trouble your souls with this salacious, grisly saga drenched in blood and Compound V."
"The Boys" Comic-Con panel, which comes one week after the Season 4 finale dropped on Amazon July 18, included Kripke and cast members Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Karen Fukuhara, Tomer Capone, Laz Alonso, Antony Starr, Jessie T. Usher, Claudia Doumit, Nathan Mitchell, Chace Crawford, Susan Heyward and Valorie Curry. Ackles made a surprise appearance at the end, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who joined the cast in Season 4 as CIA agent Joe Kessler) moderated the panel.
It kicked off with a musical medley of "The Boys" songs, including "Chimps Don't Cry," "Never Truly Vanish," "Let's Put the Christ Back in Christmas" and A-Train's rap "Faster."
Starr also revealed during the panel that the cringeworthy breastfeeding scene between Homelander and Firecracker in Season 4 got pretty messy.
He called the breastfeeding scene "the weirdest thing" he's done on the show -- which is already known for some "weird shit." During Season 4, Starr's Homelander grows closer to Valorie Curry's patriotic supe Firecracker, and the two cement their partnership with the eye-popping scene. Homelander, who has an obsession with milk (specifically breast milk), breastfeeds from Firecracker while being cradled like a baby.
"It was the psychology behind it, it turned into a love scene," Starr said while discussing the scene on stage with Curry. "I don't know if you heard me, but I was like, 'What the fuck are we doing?'"
Laughing, Curry said she clearly remembered the moment and even got an indentation of Homelander's eagle insignia from his costume on her thigh. She revealed that Starr "took almond milk straight to the eye" while filming.
"The Boys" just wrapped up Season 4 last week, with several cliffhangers leading into the show's final season.
Homelander (Anthony Starr) has effectively taken over the U.S. government, after the new president has enacted martial law. Homelander and Vought's power has dramatically increased, and now all of the Boys have been split up, kidnapped and taken to undisclosed locations -- meaning Hughie (Jack Quaid), Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) are missing in action. The post credits also revealed that Jensen Ackles' supe Soldier Boy, a Captain America ripoff introduced in Season 3, has been preserved in a cryo-chamber. In Season 3, Homelander learned that Soldier Boy is his father, setting up an awkward family reunion for Season 5.
The Season 4 finale, which featured an attempted attack by a shapeshifter on the president-elect, came just a few days after the real-life assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The episode was originally called "Assassination Run," but was retitled to simply "Season Four Finale." There was also a content warning, explaining that the episode was shot in 2023 and "any similarities" were "coincidental and unintentional."
"The season finale of 'The Boys' contains scenes of fictional political violence, which some viewers may find disturbing, especially in light of the injuries and tragic loss of life sustained during the assassination attempt on former President Trump," read a statement shared by Prime Video. "'The Boys' is a fictitious series that was filmed in 2023, and any scene or plotline similarities to these real-world events are coincidental and unintentional. Amazon, Sony Pictures Television and the producers of 'The Boys' reject, in the strongest terms, real-world violence of any kind."
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