Billy Butcher and Homelander are intent on eventually duking it out on The Boys, and the results will certainly be ugly and gory.
Citing everything that happened to the leader of The Seven since Season 2's finale, showrunner Eric Kripke confirmed in an interview with SFX Magazine that Homelander is only doubling down on his worst instincts. "Homelander feels victimized and petulant and aggrieved, as if somehow the most powerful person on the planet is the biggest victim on the planet," he explained. "And if that reminds you of certain American heads of state, that's purely not at all by coincidence. But he's heading towards a breaking point. Season 3 takes place a full year after Season 2."
Kripke also teased that, no matter how terrible the implications of Karl Urban's Butcher and Antony Starr's Homelander fighting are, both men "kind of want it," ironically while their respective teammates are doing pretty good. "We really drew out this season more than we have in the past," he continued, "and shared some interesting similarities between those two characters, and how much all they want is to burn the world down to go after the other one."
Initially, Butcher's vendetta against Homelander stayed mostly faithful to the source comic series created by Garth Ennis, sparked by the belief that Homelander raped and murdered his wife Becca. However, Season 1's finale revealed that Becca had survived and given birth to Homelander's biological son Ryan, raising him alone and hidden from the world.
This conflict involving Butcher's family, as well as Homelander's romance with the secret Nazi Stormfront, eventually came to a head in Season 2's finale, where Ryan used his latent powers to stop Stormfront at the cost of killing his mom. The season ended with Butcher putting Ryan into federal custody and Homelander beoming more unhinged when Queen Maeve blackmailed him into not seeking revenge on either the Boys or his teammates.
The newest The Boys trailer hinted at a conflict brewing between the Boys, the Seven and Vought International, as well as Homelander's mental deterioriation, with Starlight describing him as having "lost his fu#@ing mind." During the trailer, Butcher and the Boys also receive samples of a mysterious Compound V-looking substance that temporarily grants them powers -- specifically, laser vision for Butcher. In addition to the main cast, Season 3 will introduce two new metahumans from the comics: Crimson Countess, a Scarlet Witch parody, and the Captain America-inspired World War II hero Soldier Boy, played by Supernatural star Jensen Ackles.
The Boys Season 3 premieres on Prime Video June 3.
Source: SFX Magazine