'The Boys' season 5: Everything we know so far

Season 5 of "The Boys" has been officially approved by Vought Industr— I mean, Prime Video. The hit superhero show for Amazon's streaming service just wrapped up season 4 but it's already confirmed to return for a fifth and final season.

When exactly, will it be coming back? Well ... there's some bad news on that front, but we do have an idea of when you can expect "The Boys" to be back in town. Here's everything you need to know about "The Boys" season 4, including its possible release date, confirmed and rumored cast and potential plotlines. We'll even give you a quick recap of everything that happened in season 4 in case you've already forgotten.

'The Boys' season 5 key details

• Season 5 expected in 2026
• Filming is expected to begin "around mid-November" (h/t Variety )
• Season 5 will have eight episodes
• Season 5 will be "The Boys" final season (h/t The Wrap )

'The Boys' season 5 release date window

We don't have an official release date yet for season 4, but there are plenty of breadcrumbs that all but confirm it will arrive in 2026.

In an interview with Deadline while promoting season 4, creator/showrunner Eric Kripke revealed that they had started the writers room for season 5 "about a month ago, five weeks ago." That means writing for season 5 started (probably) at the beginning of May 2024.

However, just because work on season 5 has already started doesn't mean you can expect it soon. In that same interview, Kripke said, "It’s about two years and change" from when a writers room starts to when the first episode(s) drops on Prime Video.

The show's star Karl Urban has essentially confirmed this current ETA for more episodes of "The Boys." In an Instagram post following the release of the season 4 finale, Urban said, "See you in ...2 years (wish it was sooner) for the final season on @primevideo."

With this information, we currently expect "The Boys" season 5 to be released on Prime Video in summer 2026 . If that timeline changes, we'll be sure to update our prediction.

'The Boys' season 5 cast

Spoilers for "The Boys" seasons 1-4 and "Gen V" season 1 can be expected beyond this point

Confirmed cast for 'The Boys' season 5

Technically, no casting for season 5 has been confirmed. Yet . But here's who we are all but certain will be in the cast for the final season of "The Boys":

• Karl Urban as Billy Butcher : A brutal former spy determined to bring down Vought and rid the world of superheroes, aka "supes." While a former leader of The Boys, he's now largely taking justice into his own hands.
• Jack Quaid as Hughie Campbell: Initially just an ordinary guy whose girlfriend is killed by a supe, he's now deeply embedded with The Boys and their mission to take down Vought. He's also the boyfriend of the superhero turned social justice warrior Starlight.
• Anthony Starr as John Gillman/Homelander: A psychotic and power-hungry supe who has no problem killing innocents at will. He has a son, Ryan, who he struggles to parent while leading the Superhero group "The Seven" and secretly attempting a fascistic takeover of the U.S.
• Erin Moriarty as Annie January/Starlight: A former member of The Seven, Starlight is trying to do good in the world but without her super powers. Despite this, she still teams up with The Boys and her boyfriend Hughie to fight the supes in the shadows.
• Laz Alonso as Marvin T. "Mother's" Milk: The leader of The Boys, Mother's Milk wants to take down the supes as badly as Butcher, but not at any cost. His love for his wife and daughter drives him to try and do things the right way, though he knows to protect his family The Seven and Homelander can't be allowed to have power.
• Chace Crawford as Kevin Moskowitz/The Deep: The Seven's version of Aquaman, this supe can talk with sea creatures and often doesn't stop at talking.
• Tomer Capone as Serge/Frenchie: Tech expert, chemist, assassin and former international arms dealer, Frenchie is the lovable, quirky soul of The Boys despite the fact that he's a cold-blooded killer.
• Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro: A deadly fighter struggling to confront her past, Kimiko does not speak. Instead, she uses super powers she gained after being forcibly injected with Compound V to beat up (and kill) supes. Her and Frenchie have a deep friendship that often hints at something more.
• Nathan Mitchell as Earving/Black Noir II: The successor to the Black Noir we saw die in season 3, this version of Black Noir talks (even though he's not supposed to), flys (even though he's not supposed to) and struggles with his new role pretending to be the original, murderous Black Noir.
• Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett: A Vought executive who rises to CEO. Ruthless to her subordinates, she's terrified of The Seven and in particular Homelander.
• Jensen Ackles as Ben/Soldier Boy: The original Vought top supe and Homelander's biological father, Soldier Boy is willing to kill just about everyone. He was thought to have been killed in season 3 but a scene in the season 4 finale reveals that he's alive.
• Cameron Crovetti as Ryan: Homelander's son with Becca, who was Butcher's wife. Ryan struggles to grapple with his past, his father's psychotic behavior and his own emerging powers.
• Susan Heyward as Jessica "Sage" Bradley/Sister Sage: The "smartest person in the world," Sage seems to delight in helping Homelander's quest for dominance over humanity because it gives her vast intellect an actual challenge.
• Valorie Curry as Misty Tucker Gray/Firecracker: An alt-right supe influencer with a grudge against Starlight, she rises to The Seven and becomes a power pawn for Homelander to control.
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Joe Kessler: A CIA case officer from Butcher's past, Kessler
  turns out to be a hallucination caused by Temp V-powered brain tumors.

Possible returning cast for 'The Boys' season 5

Here are cast members we could expect to see in season 5 of "The Boys," but based on the events of seasons 1-4, they may not appear in the show's final season:

• Dominique McElligott as Margaret Shaw/Queen Maeve: A former member of The Seven with superhuman physical attributes, she disappeared after the events of season 3 but is not dead. Showrunner Eric Kripke has stated that we should expect Maeve to return before "The Boys" is over, but she may appear in "Gen V" rather than season 5 of "The Boys."
• Jessie T. Usher as Reggie Franklin/A-Train: The speedster of The Seven, A-Train finally has enough of pretending to be a superhero and turns informant for The Boys in season 4. He's currently on the run from Homelander but may return in season 5.

Possible 'Gen V' cast in 'The Boys' season 5

Based on the season 4 finale, here are the cast members of Gen V that might make an appearance in 'The Boys' season 5:

• Maddie Phillips as Cate Dunlap: Cate is a Godolkin University student who has  telepathic abilities that allow her a level of mind control when touching another person. She confronts Kimiko and Frenchie at the end of season 4.
• Asa Germann as Samuel "Sam" Riordan: A young supe with superhuman strength and durability, Sam is seen helping Cate in the season 4 finale. Both him and Cate are clearly working for Homelander, but may return in season 2 of "Gen V" rather than season 5 of "The Boys."

Casting rumors for 'The Boys' season 5

Here are possible casting announcements that have been teased, rumored or hinted at, but there's no confirmation that these people will appear in "The Boys" season 5:

• Jared Padalecki in an unknown role: In an interview with JoBlo Streaming &  TV , Kripke stated that he'd love to see "Supernatural" star Padalecki appear in the final season of "The Boys."

'The Boys' season 4 recap

I won't go into too much detail here, but let's cover the important stuff that happened in season 4 of "The Boys" before diving into what might happen in season 5.

The season kicks off with the Boys fully backed by the CIA and President Robert "Dakota Bob" Singer (Jim Beaver). Their first mission? To assassinate his running mate and secret supe Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit). Not only does that end in disaster, but it turns out that Victoria's daughter Zoe (Olivia Morandin) is now a supe with deadly tentacles that erupt from her face.

Turns out that trying to assassinate Neuman was a good idea because she, Homelander, Sister Sage (the smartest person on the planet) and a cabal of politicians are planning a coup to overthrow the U.S. government. This leads to Sister Sage rising to join the Seven, alongside the alt-right supe named Firecracker. Firecracker uses her position to destroy Starlight, who is a nemesis from Firecracker's past back when they were Annie and Misty instead of supes.

As all this is going on, Butcher learns he only has months to live thanks to the Temp-V that's wreaking havoc on his body. Turns out it's also wreaking havoc on his mind, as Butcher is now hallucinating his former friend Joe Kessler, a CIA case worker who's been dead for some time.

Butcher isn't the only one with health problems though. Hughie's dad (Simon Pegg) goes into a coma and then is revived after Hughie's estranged mother (Rosemarie DeWitt) injects Hughie's dad with Compound V that had fallen out of Hughie's pocket. This causes Hughie's dad to go on a murderous, uncontrollable rampage which only ends when Hughie ends his father's life.

While all this is going on, the Boys discover a virus that can defeat superheroes. Despite some initial complications, Frenchie is able to turn it into a weapon.

Everything then comes to a head in the season 4 finale, which is possibly the best episode of "The Boys" to date. A shapeshifter posing as Starlight is exposed (only after Hughie agrees to marry her) and attempts to kill the President. The shapeshifter is then killed by the real Starlight, who is very mad at Hughie.

That has to wait for later though, because Neuman is now the Vice President and will be the first super-powered President if Homelander's coup is successful. She gets cold feet though, and tries to defect to the Boys to protect her daughter.

Unfortunately for her though, Butcher is now on a super-powered rampage. His attempt to turn Ryan to work with them to destroy Homelander ends in tragedy, so Butcher unleashes his Kessler-powered murderous alter ego. That alter ego? Yeah ... it's a tentacled murder monster and it rips Neuman in half in front of her daughter.

So now Neuman is dead, Butcher is on the loose trying to kill every supe with the virus he stole from Frenchie and the Boys are on the run from Homelander. Sister Sage reveals to Homelander that this was the plan all along, reveals that the President is being blamed for Neuman's death and the coup was a success. While Homelander isn't President, he's quickly given the power to oversee newly enacted martial law, giving him effective control of the U.S. government. He uses this power quickly to apprehend The Boys, capturing all but Starlight, who manages to escape.

'The Boys' season 5 plot speculation

Spoilers for "The Boys" seasons 1-4 and "Gen V" season 1 can be expected beyond this point, as well as potential spoilers for "The Boys" season 5

If it seems like the world is coming to an end after seeing season 4 — or reading about it above — you're not crazy. In an interview with LadBible , showrunner Eric Kripke said, "As far as we're concerned, it's [season 5] our show's version of the apocalypse." He elaborates further, saying that in season 5, "Homelander gets everything he has wanted from the beginning, which is to completely remake the United States in his image, and according to his whims."

The good news is that despite seeming like all is lost, we know that the Boys will "need to really come together in the fifth season and save the world." They're eventually going to take the flight to Homelander despite most of them seemingly imprisoned at the end of season 4. We know those things will happen in season 5 of "The Boys," but here's what else might happen.

First, let's go over what seems obvious at the end of the season 4 finale. It definitely looks like Soldier Boy returns, though its unclear if he'll be with Homelander or continue trying to kill his biological son.

Speaking of sons, Homelander's son Ryan clearly has to pick a side in season 5. Will he fight with the Boys against his father? Or will a combination of a recent evil streak, fear of his father and a comfortable lifestyle lead him to stay with Vought and the Seven. It's always possible he eschews both sides but that feels unlikely.

As previously mentioned, it's almost a certainty that Queen Maeve likely returns. The question remains will she have her superpowers back or will she need to get them back somehow? Will A-Train return as well to protect his family? It feels likely but it's always possible he's out of the game for good. If he is, that's probably the smart decision, because we know that Butcher is going to try and kill all the supes with the virus he stole from Frenchie.

There are two supes though, whose future is unclear. At the end of season 4, Ashely takes Compound V to protect herself, but as we've seen that doesn't end well for a lot of people. Will she survive its effects? If she does, will she still be remotely human? Time will tell what to expect from her character, but expect it to be important.

Then there's Zoe, Victoria Neuman's daughter. She's knocked out in the fight where Butcher kills her mother, and there's a theory that in season 5 she'll kill Butcher. This theory (h/t Watch Mojo ) is based on the fact that Butcher and Zoe have similar powers and Butcher killed her mom. It's not impossible, but I'm not sold on it yet.

Finally, one thing I feel certain about is that "Gen V" and "The Boys" will continue to have crossovers. "Gen V" season 2 is likely coming in 2025 according to Amazon MGM Studios television head Vernon Sanders (h/t The Wrap ), and that season of television should tell us a lot about what to expect in season 5 of "The Boys."

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