The Boys season 5: everything we know about the hit Prime Video show's final chapter

The Boys season 5 will mark the diabolical end of the incredibly popular Amazon TV show. That's right, after five seasons, the hit Prime Video franchise's main series will (super)power down for good, meaning we'll be waving goodbye to Billy, Hughie, Homelander, and its other eclectic characters in the not too distant future.

Ahead of one of the best Prime Video shows' final hurrahs, you'll want the scoop on everything we know about it. In this guide, you'll find every piece of important news, plus the odd rumor or five, about The Boys' final chapter. That includes our thoughts on when it'll be released, likely cast list, possible plot, and whether Amazon will make more shows set in The Boys universe after season 5 ends.

It goes without saying, but full spoilers follow for The Boys season 4. Potential season 5 spoilers are also discussed.

The Boys season 5 release date: what we know

The Boys season 5 doesn't have a release date yet. Amazon only confirmed the very popular Prime Video show was getting a fifth installment on May 14, so there's a long way to go before it debuts on one of the world's best streaming services.

If you were hoping that filming would begin soon ahead of a possible 2025 launch, you'll want to revise your expectations. Despite The Boys' writing team being hard at work on its scripts, development on Gen V season 2, the main show's primary live-action spin-off, is being prioritized – and its narrative will likely impact what happens in The Boys' fifth season. 

Speaking to Variety, showrunner Eric Kripke revealed that season 5 will" start shooting around mid-November. And I don’t know when it’ll premiere yet, but we’ll be shooting well into middle of [20]25". Long story short: don't be shocked if season 5 isn't with us until early 2026.

The Boys season 5 cast: confirmed and rumored

Based on what happens in The Boys season 4, here's who we expect to see in the series' last entry:

• Karl Urban as William 'Billy' Butcher
• Jack Quaid as Hugh 'Hughie' Campbell
• Antony Starr as Homelander
• Erin Moriarty as Annie January/Starlight
• Laz Alonso as Marvin Milk/Mother's Milk
• Jessie T Usher as Reggie Franklin/A-Train
• Chace Crawford as Kevin Moskowitz/The Deep
• Tomer Capone as Serge/Frenchie
• Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro
• Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir 2.0
• Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett
• Cameron Crovetti as Ryan Butcher
• Susan Heyward as Jessica Bradley/Sister Sage
• Valorie Curry as Misty Gray/Firecracker
• Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Joe Kessler
• Maddie Phillips as Cate Dunlap
• Asa Germann as Sam Riordan

That list isn't an exhaustive one. Indeed, there are many other characters who could appear in season 5. For one, Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy, who was briefly glimpsed in the mid-credits scene of the season 4 finale, might show up in or out of cryostasis. Shantel VanShanten, who portrayed Becca Butcher on and off throughout the show's run, could also feature as the imaginary angel on Billy's shoulder if he ever stops listening to the devilish mirage that is Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Kessler.

Cate and Sam, who originally appeared in Gen V season 1, might not be the only teen Supes we see in The Boys' final entry. Much will depend on what happens in Gen V's second season, but we could also see Marie, Jordan, and Emma make the jump to the main show. Andre won't show up, though, following the death of actor Chance Perdomo in March. Gen V's producers confirmed (via the show's Instagram account) that they won't recast Andre to honor the late Perdomo.

Two other individuals who won't be back are Laila Robins' Grace Mallory and Claudia Doumit's Victoria Neuman. They were killed by Ryan and Billy respectively in season 4's final episode, so unless they cameo in flashback sequences or as hallucinatory figures, we've seen the last of these characters in The Boys' TV adaptation.

As for potential additions to the cast, that'll depend on whether Eric Kripke decides to introduce any more characters. Well, outside of reteaming with another of his Supernatural buddies in Jared Padalecki, who's confirmed to appear in some capacity next season (per Variety).

The Boys' showrunner could follow the lead of the Duffer brothers, who helm Stranger Things on Netflix and only decided to include new characters who are "integral to the narrative" in Stranger Things season 5, which is the wildly popular show's final entry. Alternatively, Kripke could either add new characters who may appear in Gen V season 2 and/or future spin-offs (more on these later), or not introduce anyone else to the main show's already stacked cast. We'll find out which path he walks in due course.

The Boys season 5 plot rumors

Unsurprisingly, The Boys season 5 doesn't have an official plot synopsis. However, based on its predecessor's finale (read our article on The Boys season 4 ending explained for more details), we can speculate on what'll occur in its first few episodes.

The most obvious place to start is the 'new world order' that was established with Homelander becoming the US' new de facto president. He's not technically the leader of the western world's biggest/most profitable nation, but he's essentially the grand orchestrator of things now, with Senator Calhoun being installed as a puppet president in season 4 episode 8.

What does that mean for the US and The Boys? Supes are now hardline law enforcers who report directly to Homelander and round up and/or kill anyone that Homelander deems to be a threat. That includes the titular gang, with Hughie, Frenchie, and Mother's Milk being kidnapped at the end of the show's latest episode. Kimiko was captured alongside Frenchie and, given she has superhuman abilities, we suspect she'll be forced to join Homelander's new special forces against her will.

As for Annie January/Starlight, she managed to escape; Hughie's superpowered girlfriend fleeing into the sky – with Hughie's blessing – to evade capture. Where she's heading is a mystery, but we wouldn't be shocked if she covertly tries to locate some fellow superpowered people to help her rescue Hughie and company. Meanwhile, Billy has evaded Homelander's clutches, too, with The Boys' double-crossing former leader heading to pastures unknown with the only vial of Supe-killing virus on the planet.

In a chat with LadBible, Kripke said that deflating ending was intentionally chosen to set up a fifth season where the titular gang were at their lowest ebb. "I  think the finale of season four really shows you that we've been planning five years all along, because there's no way a show goes one more season after the events of that finale", he said. "As far as we're concerned, it's our show's version of the apocalypse.

"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 boys are at their lowest point, most of them are captured, and we worry for their future. I always look at it as of the five seasons, we're kind of at that point, that's sort of the end of the second act of a movie where everyone's really at their low point, and they've all faced their own personal demons. Now, they need to really come together in the fifth season and save the world."

As for the aforementioned virus, it's unclear how Billy will use it. Does he want to reserve it for Homelander specifically or, based on the dark side of the persona (aka his hallucinations of former best bud Joe Kessler), will he try and work out how to mass produce it, and then employ his 'scorched earth' policy to kill every Supe? The latter would surely mean he meets fierce resistance from The Boys, who count the superpowered Annie and Kimiko among their posse. The good side of his persona (ie his visions of Becca Butcher) may try to prevent him from using it on a national and/or global scale, too, as doing so would kill Ryan, Becca's son who Billy is sworn to protect. 

Oh, and let's not forget that, after injecting himself with Compound V in season 4, Billy would put himself in the firing line if he released the virus worldwide. That said, he's dying from a super form of cancer after he continually took the experimental Temp-V serum in The Boys season 3 (read our ending explainer on The Boys season 3 for more), so he'll just consider himself to be necessary cannon fodder if it means wiping out every Supe with the pathogen in his possession.

There are plenty of other questions that The Boys season 5 needs to address or, more importantly, answer before its final credits roll. 

Where did Ryan go after he escaped the CIA's safehouse? Will we see A-Train and Queen Maeve again and, if so, will they side with The Boys to take down Homelander and/or Billy? What choice will Homelander make over the cryogenically frozen Soldier Boy? Will he try to form an uneasy alliance with him or, Billy's virus aside, will he kill Soldier Boy in stasis as he's the only Supe powerful enough to stop Homelander? What powers did Ashley acquire after taking Compound V? And, after he was saved from another prison stint by his recently deceased adoptive daughter Victoria Neuman, where on earth is former Vought CEO Stan Edgar?

That's before we even consider the potential impact Gen V season 2's story will have on The Boys' final outing. Will it set up story strands to come in the main show's fifth season, or do Amazon plan on having each series' events run concurrently? Should Amazon opt for the former,Gen V's imprisoned teen Supes might be coerced (reluctantly, mind you) into joining Homelander's new police force, which might eventually team them up with Kimiko if she's similarly instructed to join Homelander's new national guard. If it's the latter, we could see storylines in each show affect the other or even overlap, regardless of when they air. Over to you, Amazon.

The Boys season 5 trailer: is there one?

No, there isn't. We won't get one until The Boys season 5's launch date is looming into view, either.

What does the future hold for The Boys on Prime Video?

Gen V season 2 aside, Amazon hasn't revealed how it'll continue to tell tales in The Boys' TV universe. Last November, we covered the rumor that another The Boys spin-off show was in the works, which is said to involve Star Wars: Andor's lead Diego Luna. The second live-action spin-off is based in Mexico, but there's been no more news on whether it's officially in development, what its story is, or what year it'll take place in. Chatting to Variety (the piece we linked to in our release date section), Kripke also teased more spin-offs were in development, adding: ""e’re not ready to announce anything yet."

Speaking to Collider in November 2022, The Boys executive producer Seth Rogen also expressed his wish to make a second season of animated anthology spin-off The Boys Presents: Diabolical. Again, there's nothing new to report on whether it's moving forward, so it remains to be seen whether Diabolical will join Gen V in getting a second installment.

As for Gen V, we don't know if it'll return for a third season yet, too. We'd be surprised if it didn't, but The Boys season 5's ending will likely dictate its future. If there are narrative beats left over from the main show, Gen V season 3 would be the ideal candidate to wrap them up. Until Prime Video says otherwise, however, we can't say whether it'll return for another entry.

For more Prime Video-based coverage, read our guides on Fallout season 2, The Rings of Power season 2, and the best Prime Video movies to stream today.