Jensen Ackles teases Soldier Boy’s return to The Boys franchise after that ambiguous season 3 ending. Ackles joined the Prime Video hit in its third installment, reuniting with Supernatural creator and The Boys showrunner to portray one of the show’s most powerful villains. Soldier Boy was secretly betrayed by his team and captured by the Soviets in order for Vought to replace him with Homelander. Recruited to stop the man that replaced him, Ackles’ character proved to be too powerful. Though he is returned to his gassed capsule in his last appearance, he remains very much alive and in play for The Boys season 4.
During a conversation with Awards Radar, Ackles is asked about the speculation that Soldier Boy will be back in The Boys‘ Gen V spinoff. Although the Supernatural alum stops short of revealing any news, he does tease his return to the Prime Video hit by mentioning that his character is “not dead“:
“There’s some things out there. I’m not allowed to give anything out, but we’ll just say that Soldier Boy is not dead. Thank God.”
The Boys Has Already Shown How Soldier Boy Could Return In Season 4
If it’s the case that Ackles returns as Soldier Boy in The Boys season 4, the show already has something of a template to do with his presence. Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue) was killed off at the conclusion of season 1, though Shue still made a few guest appearances to provide closure for her character’s arc. The same is true for Stormfront (Aya Cash), essentially fatally wounded in the season 2 finale, she’s officially killed off early in season 3.
Like Stillwell and Stormfront, Soldier Boy has a deep connection to Homelander. He’s revealed to be the character’s father and it’s unclear if the show will lean into this dynamic further, bringing back Ackles for more of a leading role, or if he could be officially killed off in The Boys season 4. Ackles hints that he’ll reprise his role, but doesn’t mention for how long and in what capacity.
There’s certainly drama worth examining in the relationship between Homelander and Soldier Boy. But at the same time, based on what’s already confirmed about The Boys season 4, there are going to be several big cast additions alongside the returning actors. There’s a case to be made that the sharp satire series should be more willing to kill off its superpowered heroes and villains. Sending some characters to the spinoff could be one solution.
Source: Awards Radar