Television Superhero Shows

First The Boys Season 5 Photo Reveals The Return Of Three Members Of The Seven

Antony Starr as Homelander and Cameron Crovetti as his son Ryan in The Boys Jan Thijs/Prime Video
By Jeremy Mathai

Sometimes, fiction and fact overlap in a way that artists simply never could've anticipated or planned for. Other times, well, reality gets so absurd that all you can do is lampoon it as best you can in pop culture. What I'm trying to say is, to paraphrase a popular meme, I feel bad for our country in light of certain events ... but at least season 5 of "The Boys" will be tremendous content.

Earlier this summer, creator Eric Kripke debuted the fourth season of the popular Prime Video series and packed in all the political/social commentary that viewers have come to expect (and, for those who've missed the point entirely, occasionally loathe). The storyline, appropriately enough, ended on a tremendous downer. Homelander (Antony Starr) makes his biggest power grab yet and installs a puppet as President of the United States to declare martial law under Supes, almost all of our heroes are ambushed and captured, and our favorite rogue Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) makes off to parts unknown with that superhuman-killing virus. Oh, and to top it all off, Jensen Ackles' villainous Soldier Boy is set to return after an ominous mid-credits tease.

On the bright side, we can only go up from here. That's the tone Kripke seems to be striking with our first behind-the-scenes look at "The Boys" season 5, which will also be the show's swan song. The writer and producer, who remains one of the most visible social media presences out of anyone in the industry, has posted a new photo taken from the set as filming is currently underway. For fans eager to wolf down every scrap of new information, well, maybe consider this a mere appetizer for what's to come. That apparently includes the return of at least three major figures of the Seven, which you can check out below.

The Boys creator Eric Kripke teases the return of Homelander, the Deep, and Black Noir

Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir and Chace Crawford as the Deep striking a fighting pose in The Boys Jasper Savage/Prime Video

The upcoming season of "The Boys" is shaping up to be one that's all about the baddies. While the rest of us mere mortals continue to slog through that post-Thanksgiving haze, the cast and crew are hard at work making the next chapter of their superhero-spoofing show. And creator Eric Kripke has the photographic evidence to prove it, highlighting a trio of the main villains.

In a new post on Twitter (only Homelander and his goons would call it "X") earlier today, Kripke revealed a new look at three of the season's biggest bads back in action: Chace Crawford's aquatic-themed The Deep, Antony Starr's Homelander, and Nathan Mitchell (who took the selfie) as Black Noir — or rather, the hastily-assembled imposter to replace the original masked menace, who suffered a pretty gruesome death the season prior. Kripke accompanied the tweet with the following caption: "They saved me. They saved me in every way a man can be saved. Feast your eyes on the first #Season5 #BTS pic!"

This isn't the first time Kripke has let the internet in on some behind-the-scenes details and teased the season to come. A little more than a week earlier, he similarly took to the social media app formerly known as Twitter to post an image of the script for the season 5 premiere, which hints at the debut of one of the most disgusting Supes of all. Prior to that, he also told fans to prepare themselves for the worst. His grim warning cautioned that "there will probably be lots of death," just in case the previous four seasons didn't adequately send the message. However this series wraps things up, we'll absolutely be seated. Season 5 of "The Boys" premieres on Prime Video sometime in 2026.

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