The Boys Season 2: Everything You Need To Know!

The Boys is an American superhero web TV series. It is all based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Eric Kripke developed the series for Amazon. It follows the eponymous team of vigilantes as they fight back against superpowered individuals who abuse their abilities. The series premiered on 26 July 2019. After the premiere, Amazon renewed The Boys for season second.

The Boys is set in a universe where superpowered individuals are all recognized as heroes by the general public and owned by powerful corporation Vought International which markets and monetizes them. Outside of their heroic personas, most are arrogant and corrupt. The series primarily focuses on two groups: the Seven, Vought International’s premier superhero team, and the titular Boys, vigilantes looking to keep the corrupted heroes under control.

Billy Butcher leads the boys, who despise all superpowered people. The egotistical and unstable Homelander leads the Seven. As a conflict ensues between the two groups, the series also follows the new members of each team. Hughie Campbell of the Boys, who joins the vigilantes after one of the Seven kills his girlfriend. Annie January / Starlight of the Seven, a young and hopeful heroine forced to face the truth about the heroes she admires.

The Boys: Development

Between the years 2008 and 2016, a film adaption of The Boys was in various stages of development at both Columbia Pictures and Paramount Pictures. On 6 April 2016, and announcement cleared that Cinemax was developing a TV series adaption of the comic book. Eric Kripke, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen were developing the production.

Kripke was going to write the series. Goldberg and Rogen were going to direct it. Kripke, Goldberg, Rogen, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Ori Marmur, James Weaver, Ken Levin, and Jason Netter were the executive producers. Garth Ennis and Darick Robert were the co-executive producers. Production companies involved with the series included Point Grey Pictures, Original Film, and Sony Pictures Television.

On November 8, 2017, an announcement said that the production got a series order from Amazon Video for the first season consisting of eight episodes. The series had reportedly been in development at Amazon for a several months preceding the series order announcement. It was also reported that the previously announced creative team was still attached to the series.

Kripke wanted to retain a sense of reality to the show. He wanted to keep the writers disciplined decided “Anything that comes out of this drug is viable, and anything that doesn’t we’re not allowed to do”. He did not want to fall into the overused convention of killing off female characters to motivate the heroes. He also saw an opportunity to surprise readers of the comics by changing the story of Butcher’s wife Becky.

On 30 April 2018, an announcement said that Dan Trachtenberg would direct the series’ first episode. He replaces Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as they dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.

The Boys: Filming

Principal photography for the first season began on 22 May 2018, in Toronto. The Boys, scheduled to last until 25 September 2018. Principal photography for the second season took place from 17 June 2019 to 13 November 2019, in Toronto.

The Boys: Characters and Casting

Karl Urban as Billy Butcher, the leader of the Boys and a former CIA operative who distrusts all individuals with superpowers. He has a particular hatred towards Homelander, who he believes is responsible for the disappearance of his wife. Jack Quaid as Hughie Campbell, a member of the Boys who joins the vigilantes after A-Train kills his girlfriend Robin. Antony Starr as John /Homelander, the extremely powerful leader of the Seven. Beneath his public image as a noble hero, he is arrogant, sadistic, and cares little about the well-being of those he professes to protect.

Erin Moriarty as Annie January /Starlight, a light-emitting superhero and new member of the Seven. Unlike many other superpowered individuals, Annie is genuine in her efforts to help the public. Dominique McElligott as Queen Maeve, a veteran member of the Seven who once wanted to protect innocent lives, but has become disillusioned and suffers from burnout. As the former girlfriend of Homelander, she knows his true character. Jessie T. Usher as A-Train, a speedster member of the Seven. He is always determined to maintain his status as the fastest speedster, resulting in him becoming addicted to Compound-V.

Laz Alonso as Marvin /Mother’s Milk (MM), a member of the Boys responsible for organizing and planning the vigilantes’ operations. He continually promises to leave the group for the safety of his family, in part due to his frequent clashes with Frenchie but finds himself lured back by Butcher. Chace Crawford as Kevin /the Deep, a member of the Seven who possesses the ability to communicate with aquatic life and breathe underwater. He is also looked down upon by the other members of the Seven due to his status as the group’s token aquatic hero. Tomer Capon as Frenchie, a member of the Boys and mercenary skilled in munitions, ordinance, infiltration, and communications. Frenchie has a tendency to not follow the team’s plans, which puts him in repeated conflicts with Mother’s Milk.

Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko /the Female, a mute, feral member of the Boys with enhanced strength and regenerative healing. Involuntarily injected with Compound-V as part of a scheme to create superpowered terrorists, she joins the Boys after they rescue her. Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir, a silent member of the Seven who possesses superhuman strength and agility and conceals his physical appearance behind a dark costume. Elisabeth Shue as Madelyn Stillwell, a charismatic, scheming vice president of Vought International.

Simon Pegg as Hugh Campbell Sr (season 1), Hughie’s father. He cares deeply for his son but does not believe Hughie has the confidence to stand up for himself. Pegg was the visual inspiration for Wee Hughie in the comic book series from which the series is. Jennifer Esposito as Susan Raynor, a deputy director of the CIA. Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett, a publicist for Vought International who acts as Starlight’s agent.

Ann Cusack as Donna January, Starlight’s mother. She groomed Annie to be a superhero since childhood out of a vicarious Princess-by-Proxy mentality. Christian Keyes as Nathan, A-Train’s older brother, and trainer.

The Boys Season 2: Release Date

Amazon confirmed The Boys for a second season even before the first season had premiered. This early renewal is not only a sign of Amazon’s faith in The Boys but also an opportunity to gain a head start on production for season 2. Keen not to lose momentum, fans can perhaps expect Amazon to deliver a fairly quick turnaround on The Boys season 2, with a release in late 2020 or early 2021 a reasonable guess at this stage.

The Boys Season 2: Official Trailer

The Boys Season 2: Cast

The cast for The Boys season 2 will likely stay more or less the same. Elisabeth Shue’s Stillwell is now gone, meaning Giancarlo Esposito’s Mr. Edgar looks set to have a far larger role when The Boys returns. Along with Amazon’s season 2 renewal, it was also revealed that Aya Cash would be joining The Boys as Stormfront.

A gender-flip from the comic books, Stormfront is essentially the prototype superhero in the mythology of The Boys, developed in 1930s Germany by the Nazi party. Still alive in 2019 due to slower aging, Stormfront is, unsurprisingly, a massive racist and leads a group of Neo-Nazis as leader of the Payback group. Essentially the father (now a mother) of the Seven, Stormfront is an extremely powerful hero, similar to Homelander in strength, and is also based on DC’s Shazam.

The Boys Season 2: Storyline

The last episode of The Boys Season 1 concluded with a huge bombshell, as Billy’s wife was not only revealed to be alive but secretly raising Homelander’s son. This revelation suggests that The Boys’ second season could move even further away from its source material, as Billy has finally found the person whose disappearance triggered his crusade against superheroes. Furthermore, The Boys season 2 will almost certainly deal with the ramifications of Homelander’s sudden move into parenthood and with Stillwell’s death. The Seven are sure to have even more power than before.

One of the biggest drawbacks coming out of The Boys’ debut season was a distinct lack of material featuring the infamous five together and kicking superhero butt, but season 2 should be a very different beast in this regard. The central five members of Butcher’s Boys are now firmly together, with The Boys’ first season taking time to establish the character and personality traits of each. With introductions now out of the way, season 2 should showcase more of The Boys doing what The Boys do best.

The comic books by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson provide some hints as to the direction The Boys season 2 will take. Based heavily on Bruce Wayne/Batman, the hero Tek-Knight is a prominent figure in the comics after Hughie officially joins the gang and has been already mentioned on the Amazon TV series as the hero responsible for crippling the woman in the group therapy scene. Being clumsy with spines isn’t Tek-Knight’s only flaw, unfortunately, as his comic incarnation has an uncontrollable sex obsession, with people, animals, and inanimate objects all potential targets. It’ll be fascinating to see how this adapts into live-action, if at all.

Following on from the events of The Boys season 1, future episodes will surely deal with the questionable decision to allow superheroes into the U.S. military and for Butcher to gain the upper hand on his super-abled foes, he may need help from a key figure seen in The Boys’ comic series: The Legend. An old man who used to turn the adventures of Vought’s finest into comic books, The Legend has an encyclopedic knowledge of superheroes, including their dirty laundry.

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