Fans were more than a little annoyed when large portions of season 5 of The Boys, ahead of its ultimate ending, appeared to be a large ad for the upcoming Vought Rising prequel spinoff series. That stars Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy, who had almost the most screen time of anyone in season 5, and in the end, did not seem terribly necessary for where things ended up, and is put back on ice, right where he started.
Now, the actual trailer for Vought Rising has been released, and while I may be predisposed to be annoyed with it after season 5, I can’t help but think it…actually looks quite good.
The 1950s aesthetic here is top-notch, and I love the vision of this retro batch of superheroes. I think The Boys lost its style and production value in time, but Vought Rising looks like it’s recaptured a unique look and vibe, something this universe badly needs.
We see Soldier Boy joining the existing team of heroes, including Torpedo, briefly seen in The Boys season 5, and the stylish Private Angel. Also present, of course, is Aya Cash’s Clara Vought, who will effectively co-lead the series with Jensen. How the show will handle all of us knowing she’s a secret Nazi when others don’t, remains unclear.
There are also zero indications here that part of this show will take place in modern day, after the events of The Boys’ finale, which saw the death of Homelander and the return of Vought taking control over supes once again. But showrunner Eric Kripke heavily implied that could be the case, something kept under wraps, and it was in response to a question of whether the Gen V kids could appear in the show somehow if that was true. That said, Vought Rising is meant to run for multiple seasons, so who knows what the future holds.
Vought Rising is one of two announced shows in The Boys universe Amazon has planned, the other being The Boys: Mexico, led by Gael Garcia Bernal and Andor star Diego Luna, but that still seems early in production, and perhaps not a sure thing yet. Some of that may depend on how Vought Rising performs, and if there is still interest in this universe. With some fans disappointed by the finale, they may not show up for the next show. Regardless, it seems unlikely to be as popular as the original, as we saw with the many, many post-Walking Dead spinoffs. Though in that case, many still existed for a long while (and still exist), so the standards here may be lower. Honestly, I’m looking forward to it now. It arrives sometime in 2027.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.