The Boys' stars Antony Starr and Jensen Ackles described what it was like to be surrounded by naked extras while filming scenes for the Prime Video series' upcoming third season.
Starr and Ackles opened up about their on-set experiences in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "It was actually quite a shocking time to come to work," Starr said of spending several days shooting alongside nude extras. Ackles added that adapting the comics' notorious "Herogasm" storyline in live-action took its toll on the show's crew. "Just the look on our [crew's faces] was like they'd just been through some horrible, traumatic experience and that they were going to need counseling and some sort of self-help group moving forward past that episode," he quipped.
Despite the considerable debauchery shot for the episode, The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke recently confirmed that at least one major "Herogasm" moment won't appear in the show. Kripke revealed that he and The Boys writing staff ultimately decided to omit a sexual encounter between Homelander and Soldier Boy that was featured in Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's original version of the story. The showrunner explained that this change was made to maintain consistency with the way Soldier Boy is portrayed throughout the rest of Season 3.
Earlier comments by Kripke suggest that The Boys' "hilarious" adaptation of "Herogasm" will nevertheless live up to fans' expectations, even in its slightly modified form. Kripke also teased that these scenes will pack a surprisingly emotional punch, too. "One thing we managed is to get several genuinely emotional, heartbreaking scenes in that orgy. If there is anything that The Boys does well, we can break your heart in the middle of an orgy!" he said.
Kripke also considered the wider context of The Boys recreating "Herogasm," noting that the series was only able to adapt the infamous storyline because Seasons 1 and 2 performed well. "If you were to ask the Amazon executives, they would deny it," he said. "But I feel like it was in a strange way a reward for two seasons of a successful show."
The Prime Video series will apparently continue to push boundaries outside of its more debauched content. Kripke previously promised that The Boys Season 3's opening scene is "not just the craziest sequence we have ever done, but the craziest sequence pretty much anybody has ever done."
The Boys Seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Prime Video. Season 3 arrives on June 3.
Source: EW