It might be safe to go back to Vought Tower, but The Boys season 4 looks to bring even more chaos. And, yes, the Supes will be back. Even better, they're going to be filming the new season shortly.
For everyone who finished the finale — our massive The Boys season 3 ending explained guide will help you unpack its events — we have (mostly) good news. The Supe-powered fight is going to continue.
We want to say more right now, right up here, but that would require spoiling things a lot. And after the most chaotic moments of The Boys season 3 episode 1, we don't even want to sneeze the wrong way around Eric Kripke's show.
So, let's break down everything you need to know about what's next for the Prime Video series that reaffirmed why it's one of the best shows on Amazon Prime Video. Of course, consider this your spoiler warning for The Boys season 3:
The Boys season 4 is confirmed
We didn't have to wait long for The Boys season 4's announcement. Prime Video, in a press release issued on June 10, 2022 (a week after season 3's premiere), announced it "officially ordered a fourth season of its hit Emmy-nominated series The Boys, co-produced with Sony Pictures Television, following the explosive premiere of its third season."
At the time of that announcement, the series grew its audience by 17% vs season two. This wasn't the huge jump seen from seasons one to two (+238%), but growth is growth.
The Boys season 4 release date speculation
Hopefully, The Boys season 4 isn't hit by a big production crisis. Its previous season was one of the few to avoid a Covid-19-related delay.
Since season 3 took approximately 6.5 months (February 24 to September 10, 2021) to film, and Karl Urban told Collider that he expects filming to begin on August 22, 2022, we can estimate that they should be done filming around February or March 2023, if this new season requires a similar amount of effort. That would make sense considering season 3 ended more or less where season 2 did — with everyone in the same area, locked in the war between The Boys and Homelander.
That said, it took The Boys season 3 a while — 266 days, to be precise — to get from its final shots to Prime Video. This means we could be waiting til either summer, fall or even winter to get the season. So, in short: expect The Boys season 4 release around mid-to-late 2023.
The Boys season 4 cast: Who's coming back?
It must be great to work at The Boys. Regular cast members had fantastic job security this season, as nearly all of the main characters will be coming back. That starts with The Boys themselves, as Hughie, Butcher, Annie January (who's ditched the Starlight moniker and uniform), Mother's Milk, Frenchie and Kimiko all made it out.
On the other side of the moral coin, Homelander, A-Train, The Deep, Ashley Barrett, Victoria Neuman and Stan Edgar are all still alive too.
Here's the The Boys season 4 cast we expect to return.
- Karl Urban as Billy Butcher
- Jack Quaid as Hughie
- Erin Moriarty as Annie January fka Starlight
- Antony Starr as Homelander
- Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk
- Tomer Capone as Frenchie
- Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko
- Chace Crawford as The Deep
- Jessie T. Usher as A-Train
- Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett
- Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman
- Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar
- Cameron Crovetti as Ryan
- Laila Robins as Grace Mallory
- Jim Beaver as Robert Singer aka Dakota Bob
MM's family, Monique (Frances Turner) and Janine (Liyou Abere) are likely to return, and since he was in the closing frames of the finale, we could also see the return of Todd (Matthew Gorman), Monique's boyfriend. Though we'd be happy to hear he got crushed by a falling statue.
As for characters who are off the board, but still likely to return, you've got Dominique McElligott as Queen Maeve and Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy. Paul Reiser can easily reprise his role as The Legend, especially if Soldier Boy or any other older Supes come back.
The Boys season 4: Who's dead?
Don't expect to see Black Noir or Lamar Bishop (Graham Gauthier) back this season, as Homelander and The Deep (respectively) offed them in the season 3 finale.
Soldier Boy's former teammates, Crimson Countess (Laurie Holder), Gunpowder (Sean Patrick Flannery), Swatto (Joel Labelle), Mindstorm (Ryan Blakely) and the TNT Twins — Tommy (Jack Doolan) and Tessa (Kristin Booth) all died throughout season 3 en route to the finale.
The Boys season 4 plot: What happens now?
To be honest, The Boys season 4 seems like it will be a lot like The Boys season 3. While we want to think Homelander is too toxic for Vought after he killed a civilian in broad daylight to cheers from his mob, that's probably not happening. The Seven will (again) be looking for new recruits to fill the four gaps in their ranks, and The Boys will be trying to stop Homelander for good.
To that matter, Billy Butcher's life is now seemingly on a timer, as the doctors told him that his Temp-V usage means he only has 18 months left to live. This will probably mean he'll be more desperate to kill Homelander than ever.
Butcher is still likely looking to save Ryan from his dad's embrace, per the promise he made Becca.
In the background, we've also got Victoria Neuman rising to power, as she's the current VP nominee. This will likely give Homelander more cover and power. One expects that Stan Edgar could help The Boys since he's been given the heave-ho by Homelander.