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The Boys Season 3: Trailer, Recap, Cast, Release Date, and Everything Else to Know

The diabolical show returns June 3

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Megan Vick, Kat Moon

The Boys is coming back this week! In what's bound to be a diabolical and supe-tastic Season 3, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and his team once again face off against Homelander (Antony Starr) and the formidable Seven. Will the Boys gain more momentum in their fight against Vought? Or will the conglomerate deceive its way back to the public's favor? Jensen Ackles's Soldier Boy will also join the mix this season, though his loyalties are unclear from the teasers.

We have no idea how The Boys Season 3 might top impaling a whale with a speed boat, but if there's anything we know about The Boys it's that the drama always finds new ways to shock and disturb. 

TV Guide has compiled everything we know about The Boys Season 3. And, since the last installment premiered in 2020, we also have a recap of The Boys Season 2 to refresh your memory. 


The Boys Season 2 Recap

At the start of The Boys Season 2, Butcher is framed for Madelyn Stillwell's (Elisabeth Shue) murder and Hughie (Jack Quaid), Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capon), and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) are wanted criminals. Butcher strikes a deal with Grace Mallory (Laila Robins) — he and the boys can avoid jail time if they hand over a supe-terrorist. But things get complicated when the target turns out to be Kenji (Abraham Lim), Kimiko's long-lost brother. Meanwhile, Hughie and Starlight (Erin Moriarty) have been working on a plot of their own to take down Vought. Starlight succeeds in leaking the truth about Compound V to the press, and Vought begins to face backlash from the public.

This is happening as Homelander (Anthony Starr) is losing control of the Seven. He's angry that without his permission, CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) recruited new member Stormfront (Aya Cash). Stormfront disobeys Homelander for the first time while the Seven are on a mission to capture Kenji. The supe-terrorist has been detained by Butcher and his crew, and they are traveling by speed boat to a drop-off location when Vought's heroes show up. Against Homelander's orders, Stormfront kills Kenji — with a horrified Kimiko staring from the side. 

Clearly, Butcher fails to deliver the supe-terrorist to Mallory. But not all hope is lost, because she shares information about a mysterious supe named Liberty, as well as a possible location of his wife Becca. The latter is all Butcher has wanted to after discovering that Becca is alive — and living with her and Homelander's son Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) — at the end of Season 1. Butcher finds his wife and begs her to leave with him and away from Vought's surveillance. Heartbroken, she refuses because she believes Butcher would try to get rid of Ryan given the young boy's superhero abilities. 

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At the same time, Hughie and Mother's Milk journey to North Carolina to find out more about Liberty. They are joined by Starlight, who needs a break from Vough and plus her allegiance is being questioned after she refused Homelander's order to kill Hughie. They learn that Liberty, who committed a racist murder in the 1970s, is actually Stormfront. This also means that she's way older than she appears, and the three are eager to find out what else the supe has been hiding. It's also on this road trip that Hughie and Stormfront rekindle their romance, despite Mother's Milk's disapproval.

At Vought, things are not looking too hot for A-Train (Jessie T. Usher). His racing abilities have significantly worsened due to taking Compound V, and the supe is forced to leave the Seven. He has nowhere to turn but the Church of the Collective, which is the group that has been helping the Deep (Chace Crawford) rebuild his image during the season so that he could return to the Seven. One of the church's tactics has been finding the Deep a wife in an effort to portray him as a trusted man after he was ousted for sexually assaulting Starlight. 

But times have been challenging even for those in the Seven. Homelander's popularity is quickly declining — and a viral video of him accidentally killing a civilian certainly does not help. He finally asks Stormfront — whose ratings have been soaring by the day — for personal branding help, and the two unexpectedly hook up and begin a relationship. Stormfront soon tells Homelander a secret: She was born in 1919, and Vought's founder Frederick Vought—who was also her husband—gave her the first successful Compound V injection.

Maeve (Dominique McElligott) has also had it rough after Homelander outed her on television, and he's now keeping a watchful eye over her and Elena's relationship. She decides to ask the Deep for help in recovering a video file from the sea. Remember the plane crash last season that Maeve and Homelander witnessed but didn't do anything about? The pilot actually taped a clip of the supes turning a blind eye to the dying passengers, and Maeve now has this recording in her possession.

The Boys have been working hard during this time, and Butcher successfully threatens retired Vought scientist Dr. Vogelbaum (John Doman) to testify against his former employer. This was after their initial plan of having Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) as a witness failed — the former member of the Seven burned himself at Vought's headquarters. But at this hearing of Congresswoman Victoria Neuman's (Claudia Doumit) case against Vought, all goes wrong. Vogelbaum's head explodes before he's able to say anything, and the heads of a dozen more in the courtroom also explode.

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Vought and the supes seem to have the upper hand, but it's A-Train who turns this around. In a move to help himself return to the Seven, A-Train hands over evidence of Stormfront's past as a Nazi to Hughie and Starlight. They leak this information to the press, and the public immediately turns on the supe. Meanwhile, Butcher has struck another deal — this time with Stan. He promised to get Ryan away from Homelander, in exchange for getting Becca back. Butcher is unable to follow through on this deal, however, when he decides he can't separate Ryan from Becca. In the climactic fight of the finale, he and the Boys face off against Homelander and Stormfront. Stormfront is about to kill Becca, but Ryan suddenly unleashes his laser powers to defeat her. Since he's yet to learn how to control his abilities, however, Ryan accidentally kills Becca in the process. 

Homelander is about to take Ryan away, but is stopped by Maeve who threatens him with the pilot's recording. If Homelander doesn't let Ryan and Butcher go, Maeve says she will release the tape to the public. Not wanting his reputation to be destroyed, Homelander reluctantly agrees.

At the end of The Boys Season 2, A-Train — but sadly not the Deep — is back in the Seven. The White House is opening a Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, with Congresswoman Neuman leading the office. But, plot twist, she is actually the one with the ability to make heads explode. And, even worse, in the season's final moments we see Hughie head to the agency asking Congresswoman Neuman for a job. 


Trailers

The first full-length trailer or The Boys Season 3 arrived on Monday, May 16, and there's a lot to unpack. First of all, we are going to be picking up about a year after the events of Season 2. Homelander is on the press trail to try and redeem his image after having a very public love story with a Nazi. He's claiming that he simply "fell in love with the wrong woman," but it's clear that we are very close to Homelander's mind snapping and that won't be good for anyone. 

The headline news here is really about Billy though. We see him take a serum that gives him superpowers for 24 hours. According to him, it is to level the playing field for once but Mother's Milk points out that the entire ethos of the boys is that no one deserves that kind of power. It's also unclear whether this new mystery serum will have the same addictive nature as Compound-V, because if it does, that's going to open a whole new can of worms. 

Then there's Soldier Boy. He's coming out of retirement, and what looks like a cryogenic chamber. The beard is in full effect and we know he's going to be interacting with Billy at least, but also smashing someone's head in with his shield like Captain America (Wyatt Russell) did in that episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier we all try to forget. It seems like Soldier Boy might have a bit more in common with Homelander than we suspected. It remains to be seen if that will be a good thing or a total travesty. Regardless, this is The Boys so it will be something we never expect. 

The Boys Season 3 teaser trailer debuted during the show's featured session at SXSW on March 12, and even if there's no dialogue in the trailer, there is so much to unpack. The trailer shows the first footage of Soldier Boy in action, though it's only a few quick glimpses of him in between action shots. It looks like he knows how to throw a punch though. The second thing worth noticing is that Billy has powers! There is a lot of laser-eye action going on for our main vigilante whose life purpose is destroying Vought and all of the superheroes the corrupt company spews out. It also looks like we are getting multiple music numbers this season and poor Hughie is suffering per usual, but things look even more painful than his previous exploits. Oh, and there's blood everywhere. Just so, so, so much blood. 


Release Date

The date for Season 3 is set. The Boys is returning on June 3, when three episodes of the third season will debut on Prime Video. After the premiere, a new episode will be available to stream each following Friday.


First Look Images

Heeeeeere's Soldier Boy.  Amazon released the first-look photo of the Supernatural alum decked out in costume, and we can't help but wonder what Dean Winchester would think of this look.

Jensen Ackles, The Boys

Jensen Ackles, The Boys

Amazon Studios

Ackles teased the reveal on Instagram with a close-up shot of Soldier Boy's shield. "Every dent, every scratch, every mark tells a story," he wrote. "A story that ends with me, winning."

Check out Crimson Countess. At least five new supes are joining the fray in The Boys Season 3, but Amazon has released the first look at Laurie Holden's Crimson Countess. More info about the Crimson Countess and her role in the season will be revealed on Nov. 7 with another episode of VNN's Seven on 7

Laurie Holden, The Boys

Laurie Holden, The Boys

Amazon

Casting

Jensen Ackles is Soldier Boy. Ackles' character is a WWII-era Supe who is allegedly going to make Homelander look like a tame kitten. And yes, as a WWII supe, Soldier Boy definitely has history with Stormfront, formerly known as Liberty. 

"Yes, he knew her when she was Liberty," Kripke told TV Guide at the end of Season 2. "There's a history of Vought that we're starting to map out because Soldier Boy has been a mainstay of Vought for decades. He was like John Wayne there, and so as a result, we're writing the history of Vought and how all the characters weave in together." 

Four more Supes are joining the fray. Adding to the growing list of The Boys' new cast members is The Walking Dead's Laurie Holden, who will play Crimson Countess. Variety was first to report the news.

News of Holden's casting comes days after Entertainment Weekly reported that three other new Supes have been cast for Season 3: Sean Patrick Flanery will play Gunpowder, Nick Wechsler will play Blue Hawk, and Miles Gaston Villanueva will play Supersonic. All four will have recurring roles in the upcoming season, but only Gunpowder has appeared in the graphic novels that the series is based on, so how these characters will show up and cause trouble remains to be seen. 

Your faves will return. The giant cast of The Boys is all set to return for Season 3, including Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Laz Alonso, Karen Fukuhara, and Tomer Capon for Team Boys and Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Chace Crawford, Jesse T. Usher, and Dominique McElligott for Team Supe.


Spoilers

Herogasm is coming. One of the most infamous events in The Boys graphic novels is Herogasm, a yearly retreat for supes that is basically the most insane orgy imaginable. Kripke confirmed via Twitter in January that Episode 6 of the upcoming season will be centered on Herogasm. The episode is being written by Jessica Chou. In April, Kripke shared a look at his reaction to the episode during the first production meeting. 

Hughie is working for Victoria Neuman. The end of Season 2 revealed that Hughie (Jack Quaid) was putting some space between him and the boys by taking a job with Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit), who he believes is an honest congresswoman determined to bring down Vought. Unaware that Neuman is actually the supe responsible for exploding heads throughout Season 2, Hughie is actually in more danger with his new boss/friend than he was with Butcher and the gang. Kripke confirmed that Season 3 will give Hughie a brief respite from being covered in blood, but everything will eventually go to hell in a handbasket for the canary. 

"The thing about Hughie is he's not particularly good at the ultra-violence, but he's very competent, and I think we wanted to show that off [via Neuman]," Kripke told TV Guide. "He's very smart, he's a good investigator, he's amazing with technology, he has great ideas. We wanted a chance to showcase him doing what he does best and see that he's really strong, and an able character in the fight against supes. But of course, it's all going to go to sh-- on him." 

Stormfront is not dead. Kripke would not reveal whether we'll actually see Stormfront again in Season 3 after she lost her limbs in a showdown with Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) in the Season 2 finale, but he did tell TVG that the hero is not dead yet. She's a living torso in a secure facility, being monitored as her injuries are tended to. 


Other News

We know we'll be getting even more diabolical content for the new season. Amazon announced in mid-December that an animated companion series called, uh, Diabolical would arrive in March. The animated series features the voice talent of Awkwafina, Garth Ennis, Eliot Glazer, and Ilana Glazer, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, Simon Racioppa, Justin Roiland, and Ben Bayouth, Andy Samberg, and Aisha Tyler and tell new stories set within the dysfunctional world of The Boys. All episodes are now available to stream on Prime Video.

Where to Watch

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Boys are now streaming on Prime Video.