The Boys spoilers follow.
The Boys is the novel spin on the superhero genre that was so successful, Amazon green-lit a second series before the first even aired.
Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios, said: "We are thrilled that The Boys have surpassed our predictions for viewing in its first two weeks, and has become one of our most watched Amazon Original series by our Prime Video customers.
"This creates great momentum and excitement for us as we get ready for season two."
Now, it's almost here. Here's everything you need to know.
The Boys season 2 trailer: When can I watch it?
Watch Now The Boys – season 1
Since filming for season two started in Toronto in summer 2019, fans were lucky enough to see The Boys season two trailer in early December.
After a confusing panic, the trailer was published, then removed by Amazon Prime. But finally we got to see a blood-drenched Homelander, plus lots of gore and a flash of that super-powered kid.
Since then, Amazon has released a new video featuring clips from season two, which can be watched above.
And here's the officialtrailer, in full:
The Boys season 2 cast: Who will be in it?
Most of the core cast from season one will return, including favourites like Karl Urban (Billy Butcher), Jack Quaid (Hughie), Erin Moriarty (Starlight) and Chace Crawford (The Deep).
Our first look at Urban's character in season two hints that Billy will have plenty more butchering to do in the days ahead:
Even some of the major characters who died could also appear again in flashbacks too. However, the only casting news that's actually been confirmed so far is Aya Cash, a new addition to the show who's set to play a super-powered neo-Nazi called Stormfront.
Swapping out the comedy of her show You're the Worst for something far darker, Cash will now play a gender-flipped version of the hero. In the comics, Stormfront's Aryan supremacist views put him into direct conflict with The Boys, and we're sure the TV version will follow a similar path.
Actor Antony Starr teased the role to Entertainment Weekly, explaining: "She's the grenade that gets thrown into Homelander's world and the world of the Seven. She really causes me so many problems."
Cash herself expanded on the role further: "I think Stormfront is like a nuclear bomb that goes off in the Seven. Maybe nuclear bomb isn't the right word. We're in Chernobyl. There you go. It's a Chernobyl thing.
"I think she's here to blow up Vought. She's here to try to get Vought back to the original idea behind creating superheroes... And she can be quite the feminist. There's a lot of, I wouldn't say misdirect, but she also is a very empowered woman."
Loyal comic book fans who were disappointed at the lack of canine trouble on the show will be delighted to hear that Billy's dog, Terror, will star in an upcoming episode. Showrunner Eric Kripke confirmed the news to EW, explaining that Butcher's loyal friend didn't turn up sooner because "shooting with dogs is JUST TOO F**KING HARD".
Kripke has also confirmed that Patton Oswalt will be joining the cast too in an undisclosed role. He announced the news on Twitter via a selfie, saying: "Thank you @pattonoswalt, that was AMAZING! #TheBoysTV #Season2 #SecretRole."
So what could this secret role be? While Oswalt's character is still under wraps, die-hard fans suspect he may be playing The Legend, a former comic book writer who uses his encyclopaedic knowledge of superheroes against them. It sure seems like that would come in handy for The Boys.
The Walking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan publicly campaigned for a part on The Boys via Twitter earlier this year, and it now looks like he could actually be joining the show.
Showrunner Eric Kripke responded positively to Morgan's tweet at the time, and he's since revealed that they're in talks about a role (via Collider).
"There's one role we're already talking about," Kripke said. "He has to, uh, we have to like coordinate. Because you know, he's on The Walking Dead, so he has another home.
"But we already talked about one role, and there might be a potential other that we're talking about. But we are, just this past week we were literally texting back and forth about trying to figure out how to get him on the show.
"I don't think it's a done deal yet, but the will is there, and we're both talking about it."
Nothing's been confirmed just yet, but if Morgan can find some time away from The Walking Dead, it seems likely this dream casting will indeed go ahead.
One cast member we know for a fact won't be returning is Simon Pegg in the role of Hugh Campbell Sr. Speaking to Collider, the Shaun of the Dead star was asked if he'll appear in season two, and this is what he had to say: "No, they got me out of the way. I did my little bit. It was very fun to do that show. I was pleased to be a part of it."
The Boys season 2 release date: When will it premiere?
Eager to find out more about Homelander's kid? The Boys season 2 will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on September 4.
Amazon always had a lot of faith in The Boys given that it already renewed the show before season one even aired.
Karl Urban teased a little while back on social media that season two would arrive mid-2020.
The Boys season 2 plot: What will happen?
If you thought Translucent (Alex Hassell) came to an explosive end in episode two, that’s nothing compared to how the finale left things. All season long, Butcher sought revenge against Homelander, believing he had raped his wife and driven her to suicide.
As we learned in the final scene, however, Becca (Shantel VanSanten) is actually alive and well, raising the "hero's" son in secret.
The ramifications of this will undoubtedly play a huge role in season two, turning Butcher's world upside down even more than before. By deviating from the comics like this, fan expectations will also be flipped too, promising more unpredictable stories in future seasons.
One of these surprises will come in form Stormfront. Aya Cash's character will replace Translucent as a member of The Seven in season two after he was blown up by a bum bomb.
Amazon recently revealed a first look at season two which included the debut of Stormfront on screen. The clip is short and doesn't reveal the full extent of her evil, but what we do know is that she has a frightening addiction to using Instagram Live to promote herself.
Something else we can definitely expect to see in season two is the Seven's ongoing involvement with the military. The addition of Stormfront suggests that more supes will soon make themselves known too. Our money's on Tek-Knight, a Batman rip-off whose addiction to sex with everyone and everything would provide an interesting counterpoint to the sexual harassment issues explored in season one.
Speaking of sex, one comic book storyline you shouldn't expect to see on the show until at least season three is the now-infamous 'Herogasm' run. While discussing the future of The Boys on Reddit, Kripke promised that this orgy-led story has been scheduled for the third season, assuming of course that the show continues for that long.
"We JUST figured out how to do Herogasm!! It'll come in Season 3 maybe (if we get picked up for Season 3)," he said. "I've really wanted to do it, but needed to figure out our twist on it, so it's not just an hour of hardcore porn. But I think we got it!! Super excited about that."
Don't be surprised if Black Noir takes on a more important role in future seasons as well. If you're unfamiliar with the comics, we won't spoil whose face is really hidden behind that mask, but just know that his big reveal changed the team forever and would likely impact the show in a similar way.
Plus, call us party-poopers, but… What happened to Stillwell's baby Teddy? Are we to assume Butcher blew him up and that's okay? That's not okay. #JusticeForTeddy.
But whatever comic plots are brought into the show for season two, the priority will be to keep The Boys current, in terms of what it covers.
"It's about social media, it's about where celebrity and politics intersect, it's about how people are now packaging their political messages in slick entertainment bites to get the American public to act against their own best interests, and how it's almost now indistinguishable between the people who have political power and the people who have celebrity power. It's frighteningly prescient," Kripke told The Hollywood Reporter.
"I think that Garth, in a weird way, predicted the reality that we're living, which is just an overwhelming tsunami of pop culture, social media and entertainment that's being run by very, very powerful people who are only interested in furthering their own agenda," Kripke continued.
"So I think taking shots at celebrities and the ridiculousness of celebrity life, all the trappings of entourages and publicists and everything that goes around it, is part of the story.
"But I think the other vital part of the story is that it's dangerous to put people who have real power in that position. I think that we talk about celebrity and our culture in a way that no other superhero show ever has, and I think in its own weird way we're telling one of the most current, timely stories on TV."
Amen to that.
Kripke appeared alongside the show's cast for Comic-Con: At Home on July 23, and promised that season two would also be politically relevant: "We're going after white supremacy in season two, we're going after white nationalism in season two, we're going after systemic racism in season two, and all of those things really effing suck.
"The three triangles of the show are always strong characters first, madness second – which we have – and then if we can sneak in some revelations or discussions about the real world then we'll do that too, and you'll see that in season two."
Aya Cash spoke more about the upcoming season and how "topical" it is.
"What I think is so great about The Boys – and I got to see episodes before I auditioned, so I came in as a fan – and what I love about it is that it's so topical," she said.
"What I love about all sci-fi and comic books and fantasy is that it allows us to look at current issues with some sort of distance that allows us to see them clearer.
"Because when we talk about current events often people take things very personally, and when you are watching something that is in a fantasy or a heightened world, you end up being able to sort of listen better and learn new things in different ways because they're out of your personal context."
Whatever might happen, "no-one is ready" at least, according to star Jack Quaid. Speaking to ComicBook.com, his description of The Boys season two left us more excited than any trailer ever could:
"It's just absolutely bonkers. I'll just put it this way, the scale is a lot bigger. I think we've topped season one, in terms of insane moments that make you say 'What the hell?' I've done things this season that are definite firsts for me in my career, and I probably won't do them again since."
"We just go above and beyond in terms of insane, jockeying moments," Quaid told EW.
"There's the monster, the violent psychopath, the killer, but there's also the more compassionate side, the more humanistic side of Billy... There are really some wonderful, unlikely relationships that are formed," he hinted.
"Billy thinks the only good Supe is a dead Supe, and this season is really a season about growth. He's coming to understand that things aren't that black and white, there's a certain shade of grey.
"He's coming to understand that there is a benefit that comes with tolerance and being able to see that if he can use an asset, even if it's a Supe, to achieve his goal, then he's got to do it."
The Boys season one is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
Freelancer writer
Sam is an entertainment writer with NCTJ accreditation and a twenty-year career as a film journalist.
Starting out as a staff writer at Total Film, moving up to Deputy Online Editor, Sam was responsible for Total Film’s YouTube channel, where he revolutionised the magazine’s approach to video junkets, creating influential formats that spread to other outlets.
He’s interviewed a wide range of film icons, including directors such as David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay and Sam Raimi, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep, Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, all of the Avengers and many more.
Sam has also interviewed several comic creators, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and he has a zombie cameo in The Walking Dead comic.
In 2014, Sam went freelance, working directly for film studios including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney, as well as covering red carpet events for film marketing company PMA Productions.
Sam is the co-host, producer and editor of the Arrow Video podcast, which has seen year-on-year growth since its creation in 2017, gaining over half a million listens in that time.
His byline has appeared in outlets such as Yahoo, MTV, Dazed, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Good Housekeeping among others.
In 2012, Sam made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year competition, and went on to become a filmmaker himself, directing three features that have all played major festivals, and secured distribution – starring in two of them.
Jim Carrey once mistook Sam for Johnny Cash, and John Carpenter told him to ‘Keep up the good work.’ He promises to try his best.
![new york, ny march 09 louis theroux attends build series to discuss my scientology movie at build studio on march 9, 2017 in new york city photo by santiago felipegetty images](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-650477152-1607610424.jpg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.185xw,0&resize=360:* "Build Series Presents Louis Therox Discussing "My Scientology Movie"")
