The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke explains why the series' female superheroes will have a rough go of it in the upcoming Season 3.
In the third season, some of the female supes have fallen on harder times, inspired by some of Kripke's favorite stars of the '80s. As Kripke said to Total Film Magazine, "Where are Debra Winger, Kathleen Turner and Kelly McGillis? These were the biggest stars in the world, and they're really cruelly knocked out of prominence."
In the same interview, Kripke discussed how characters like Homelander (Antony Starr), who was outed as dating a Nazi, will never learn his lesson. "To assume Homelander was humiliated presupposes that he is capable of feeling shame," said Kripke.
Based on Garth Ennis' comic book series, The Boys follows a ragtag group of vigilantes who want to expose the corruption of the Seven, the world's most popular team of superheroes. The Prime Video series uses these characters to comment on themes and problems in everyday society, such as the sexualization of female characters. "We've been patting boobs and butts and making ladies look luscious forever," said costume designer Laura Jean Shannon. "So it was actually really exciting to be given the opportunity to kind of hyper-sexualize a male character in The Boys, and really lean into Chase's great looks."
Apart from their own whims, The Seven are also directed mainly by the pharmaceutical conglomerate Vought International. This corporation prides itself in overseeing the production and management of the heroes it creates for its own gain. Season 2 shows the public finding out about Compound V and the backlash that follows, but prior to this, most supes were unaware of their genetic manipulation. In a deleted scene from Season 2, Queen Maeve and Stormfront are shown debating the latest scandal.
The official trailer for Season 3 gives fans a good look at characters like Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy, a chickenhearted parody of Captain America. Some snippets of the season's musical-themed episode have also debuted, and Season 3 will adapt the notoriously graphic "Herogasm" storyline from the comics. "If you were to ask the Amazon executives, they would deny it, but I feel like it was in a strange way a reward for two seasons of a successful show," Kripke said in an interview.
The Boys Season 3 premieres on Prime Video June 3, before moving to a weekly release.
Source: Total Film Magazine