Key Takeaways

• Release Date: The fifth season of The Boys is set to premiere next year, while Gen V season 2 arrives on September 17.
• Character Development: Marie’s powers will expand significantly in Gen V, which may influence the outcome against Homelander.
• Crossover Expectations: The showrunner emphasizes that Gen V will focus primarily on its own characters rather than becoming a crossover event.
• Thematic Elements: The narrative explores the pressures of expectations placed on young superheroes like Marie.

The fifth and final season of The Boys is expected to debut sometime next year, but the world of Supes will return in just a few weeks with Gen V season 2. Although the show will be telling its own story, The Boys creator Eric Kripke told Entertainment Weekly that the second season will “carry the torch” between the events of the penultimate and final seasons of the main series. “There’s a lot in Gen V that really helps set up the climax of this final confrontation in The Boys,” Kripke said. In fact, one popular fan theory, which has even been hinted at in the trailers, is that Marie (Jaz Sinclair) will play a part in bringing down Homelander.

“I was always hoping that they would write me to kill Homelander,” Sinclair said. “I always really liked the idea of taking him out ’cause he’s such a royal ass, you know? Marie’s such an underdog. The expansion of my powers in [Gen V] season 2 is really exciting. So the weight of that and the implication of what that could mean for Marie was really fun for me this season.“

Kripke wouldn’t comment on this theory, but did reflect on the extent of Marie’s powers, which involve manipulating and weaponizing blood. “If she can control everybody’s blood, then what can’t she do?” he said. “How is she not the most powerful superhero on the planet? Just because she has the potential to be, doesn’t mean that she is. It felt like a very organic adolescent problem, which is these expectations are placed on you to be this truly great thing, but you’re not quite ready to step up to be truly great.“

However, you shouldn’t expect Gen V season 2 to become a big crossover fest. “I’m very sensitive to the fact that Gen V should be primarily about the characters from Gen V and The Boys should be primarily about the characters from The Boys,” Kripke said. “While there can be crossovers and assists and help, it’s a little bit of a rug pull and not a great way when you’ve committed to watching, say, Boba Fett, and then for two episodes of Boba Fett, it’s just the Mandalorian. I don’t wanna do that. We have stories to tell in each one.“

The first three episodes of the new season will premiere on Prime Video on September 17.