The Boys season 3: Everything we know about the Amazon Prime series

The Boys season 3 is headed our way, and it's looking even more outrageous than season 2. The next batch of episodes are shaping up to be raunchier and more shocking than ever, but it's unclear when exactly we'll get to see them. The good news is that the series is in production now – and there have been two teasers so far in the style of Vought news bulletins, which set up some hints for season 3 to keep us busy while we wait. 

We've rounded up everything there is to know about the new season so far, including casting details and what's out there about the plot, and we've even done our best to guess at when we might get a trailer. There are also some official images of Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy, and the lowdown on those Vought News Network clips. So, without further ado, scroll on to find out everything we know about The Boys season 3.

The Boys season 3 release date speculation: filming has begun, so expect a 2022 release

The Boys season 3 release date hasn’t been announced yet. But that doesn’t mean we have no idea of when it’ll land.

That's because The Boys season 3 has begun filming. Creator Eric Kripke and star Karl Urban shared photos of themselves on the way to filming in Toronto back in February.

What does all that mean for The Boys season 3 release date? Taking into account previous filming schedules of past seasons and how they lined up to actual air dates helps us work out a (hopefully) fairly accurate release window.

The Boys season 1 started shooting in May 2018 and finished up in October 2018, eventually airing in July 2019 – a gap of nine months. The Boys season 2, meanwhile, filmed across July 2019 to November 2019, and streamed on Amazon Prime in September 2020 – a gap of 10 months later.

If filming runs smoothly, that could mean The Boys season 3 release date lands in late 2021. If we’re following a similar pattern to previous seasons, though, expect it to arrive in the first few months of 2022 just to give everyone a little more wiggle room. Unless they put all the cast and crew on Compound V, that is.

The Boys season 3 cast: who’s new, who’s staying, and who could be leaving

The Boys season 2 ending means The Boys season 3 cast has been shaken up. No official news yet on who’s returning, though we can certainly make an educated guess after what’s transpired.

Butcher (Karl Urban), Hughie (Jack Quaid), Frenchie (Tomer Capon), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) should all be back and have been seen during filming.

On the Supe side of things, there’s Homelander (Antony Starr), Maeve (Dominique McElligott), Starlight (Erin Moriarty), A-Train (Jessie Usher), and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) forming the Seven. The Deep (Chace Crawford) is likely to be sticking around, too. Expect Vought CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) to make a handful of appearances if the actor’s schedule allows.

Outside of that, the biggest name is Claudia Doumit’s Congresswoman Victoria Neuman. After being revealed to be behind the head-exploding attacks, it’s clear that she’s going to be a major focus of season three. According to Deadline, she and Colby Minifie (Vought PR Ashley) have been promoted to series regulars.

Talking of head explosions, escape Sage Grove patient Cindy is now on the loose and "as dangerous as ever." Chances are she'll have a presence in The Boys season 3.

One confirmed new addition to the cast is Soldier Boy, a Supe who is essentially a twisted take on Captain America. He will be played by Supernatural star Jensen Ackles. 

Eric Kripke describes the character as “the very first Superhero, he'll bring so much humour, pathos, and danger to the role.” Kripke also told TV Guide that Soldier Boy has a surprise connection to Stormfront. Comic Book also report that Ackles has shared a picture of his new hairstyle, seemingly during quarantine for filming on The Boys – if this is for the show, it's a style shake-up for Soldier Boy, who in the comics has shorter hair and is clean-shaven. The first official images of the character reveal a slightly less unkempt version of Ackles, with shorter hair and beard. He's also in full costume, and you can even see his shield. Check the pictures out below. 

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"Soldier Boy is the original badass," costume designer Laura Jean Shannon said. "Our goal was to highlight a bygone era of overt masculinity and grit. With that pedigree we dove headfirst into baking in an all-American quality grounded in a military soldier's practicality with a heavy dose of old school cowboy swagger. We knew that the actor had to have Steve McQueen looks and chops with a John Wayne attitude, luckily Jensen Ackles embodies all of that."

There are also three new Supes in town: Sean Patrick Flannery, Nick Wechsler, and Miles Gaston Villanueva will play Gunpowder, Blue Hawk, and Supersonic respectively. The Walking Dead's Laurie Holden will be playing Crimson Countess.

Among those who might not be returning are Stormfront (Aya Cash) and Becca (Shantel VanSanten), who both perished in the season 2 finale. Of course, the show hasn’t been shy about bringing back dead characters via other means – such as Doppelganger turning into Elizabeth Shue’s Madelyn Stilwell. So don’t rule out some form of flashback or cloning shenanigans just yet. Kripke has seemingly confirmed Stormfront isn't dead, so watch this space – although, Cash herself has said she doesn't know if she'll be back, isn't currently filming, and that her contract was just for one year. 

The Boys season 3 trailer: when can we expect one?

Again, we’re going to have to go by previous years to tease out details for this one in the absence of any hard and fast information about The Boys season 3 – at least, in terms of footage.

The Boys' second season trailer debuted surprisingly early in December 2019, some six weeks after filming had finished. The Batman showed you can cut together a sizeable trailer even if you haven’t filmed everything, so there’s still hope yet for the first glimpse of The Boys season 3 to come in a mid-to-late 2021 trailer.

The Boys season 3 images: first photo revealed

Show creator Eric Kripke has revealed the first set photo from behind the scenes on The Boys season 3.

Showcasing a golden Supe statue (which could be Homelander or newcomer Soldier Boy, the jury is still out), it's also got an unfortunately-angled view of the hero's unmentionables. So, it's The Boys through and through.

Kripke also shared illustrated posters of Homelander and Queen Maeve to Twitter – the text accompanying both characters is fairly ironic, all things considered. 

The Boys season 3 story: Sex, Supes, and (probably) more head explosions

The Boys season 2 finale has major ramifications for the show moving forward. Not least of all season 3, which has to deal with characters going their separate ways, new alliances being formed – and some not surviving at all.

We can expect plenty of focus on Victoria Neuman. The secret Supe politician has been blowing up brains and surely has some sort of diabolical plan up her sleeve.

Butcher, too, might be in the sightlines of Vought and the reformed Seven after going back on his word and keeping Ryan out of the clutches of Stan Edgar. That, and the introduction of the first Supe, Soldier Boy, could mean more of the corporation’s origins are laid bare, too.

Helpfully, we also pressed both Victoria Neuman actor Claudia Doumit and Black Noir actor Nathan Mitchell on what we can expect from their respective characters in the third season – which should serve as a nice appetiser until we find out more concrete aspects of The Boys season 3 story.

“I’m excited to see what happens with Hughie and her. I’m excited to find out more about her. I’m excited to really dig into what her backstory is and how she got to where she is. Also, I’m very excited to see her fuck some shit up, blow some heads up,” Doumit said of what she hopes to see from Neuman in the third season.

As for Black Noir? He has the potential to fuck shit up in a very different, scarier way. On the potential changes to the Seven in season 3, Mitchell said, “Him and Maeve are not going to get along! That’s pretty evident. It is so interesting because you have this forced alliance between people. Homelander doesn’t trust Maeve, doesn’t trust Starlight. Noir just fought Starlight, he definitely doesn’t trust Maeve. A-Train just clawed his way back in, he has this uneasy alliance with Starlight, so now they’re frenemies.”

“Everybody’s crossed, it’s like this house that’s divided within itself but still together. There are a lot of interesting undercurrents to the dynamic that’s going to come out of season 3.”

The Boys story has never shied away from real-world events. You-know-what is dominating at the moment – and Eric Kripke is sure that COVID-19 will influence some of the stories he and his writing team will tell moving forward.

During a roundtable, Kripke teased, “I can tell that season three, without being specifically about COVID— we’re having a lot of conversations about the government response to COVID here in the States. And my guess is, you’ll see that metaphorically show up in one way or another.”

One idea that has been floated for season 3 is “Herogasm.” As the name implies, it’s an arc ripped from the comics that involves Supes getting hot and sweaty with each other on a Vought-paid-for vacation getaway.

In a Reddit AMA, Krikpe confirmed he wanted to film those sex scenes for one episode. It looks to be happening, even if season 3 is already shaping up to be a doozy without any more bodily fluids being spilled.

If Kripke's recent Tweets are any indication, season 3 will even feature the Dawn of the Seven world premiere. The Avengers-style Vought movie was 'filmed' during the events of The Boys season 2, and we could see the finished product in future episodes. Actor Laz Alonso has also teased a serious amount of blood is being spilled in the upcoming season. 

Kripke also recently told EW that "the craziest thing we've ever done" is tucked away in the third season's premiere.

We also have one final clue. A word: Payback. That's the title of The Boys season 3 premiere and is also reference to a group torn from the pages of The Boys comics, one that includes Soldier Boy and (at one time) Stormfront. Could we see more of the super-team in season 3?

Some more concrete plot teases have also been provided recently. In the lead-up to season 3, teasers in the style of a TV news bulletin are being released, and in the two that have hit the internet so far, the Vought News Network broadcasts have already teed up some interesting story developments. 

In just two episodes, we've learned that: Homelander is sulking in the Tower after what happened with Stormfront in season 2, there'll be no Supes in the military, Dawn of the Seven is in limbo, Blindspot is being reported as missing, Hughie Campbell is working for Congresswoman Neuman as senior analyst, Eagle the Archer and the Deep are both taking on the Church of the Collective, Starlight's 'Never Truly Vanish' is a chart success (and her ex-boyfriend Supersonic is making a comeback, while she's subject to "fake news" reports of exhaustion), Homelander's supporters have made a human wall to "keep out superterrorists" (and fallen ill from sunstroke and dehydration), production of Compound V has been halted, Queen Maeve has been at the openings of two LGBTQ+ teen centers, and A Train is returning to the Seven. Episode 2 of the faux-news bulletin also advertised Vought's Global Wellness Center, for struggling heroes.

So, TL;DR? It could be a long, long wait until The Boys season 3, even if there is a lot to look forward to. In the meantime, check out the best shows on Amazon Prime and the best movies on Amazon Prime.