The Boys' 2027 Return Will Reinvent Soldier Boy

Published Jul 30, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Craig began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016 and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. After previously writing for various outlets, Craig's focus turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally became useful. Craig has previously been published by sites such as Den of Geek. Craig is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-elvy-5b31a3381/ Not many TV shows end twice in the same year and still find a way to continue, but The Boys isn't like most TV shows. Prime Video's superhero series ended with The Boys season 5, which brought the main narrative to a natural close after seven years tearing up screens. Unfortunately, Gen V wasn't given the same treatment, and Amazon canceled the college-based spinoff after two seasons, despite Eric Kripke's admission that future storylines had been planned for the main supes. Despite The Boys and Gen V both ending in 2026, the franchise rumbles on into 2027 thanks to the upcoming Vought Rising, which will focus heavily on Jensen Ackles' Soldier Boy. A semi-important figure in the original comics, Ackles only appeared in two seasons of The Boys, but certainly made a sizable splash during his tenure. As well as being Homelander's father and one of the most powerful supes in the entire universe of The Boys, Soldier Boy is arguably the most memorable cast addition to join post-season 1. No offense, Supersonic. As such, Soldier Boy being cherry-picked by Amazon for the spinoff treatment comes as no surprise. Exciting though the premise of Vought Rising may be, however, viewers shouldn't expect to see the Soldier Boy they know and love. Soldier Boy Cannot Be The Same Character In Vought Rising What essential elements make up Soldier Boy in The Boys? Of course, there are the constant quips about his hedonistic lifestyle, and the way he's a fish out of water after being thrust from the 1980s into the 2020s. There's the constant instability that comes with Soldier Boy's killer radioactive blasts, and the jaded cynicism of a man who has been captured and tortured for years on end. Soldier Boy shows no care for anyone other than himself, and possesses the arrogance of a man who believes he's unbeatable. Not a single one of those traits will be part of Soldier Boy's personality in Vought Rising. Set in the 1950s, The Boys' next spinoff finds Soldier Boy at the very beginning of his superhero career, adjusting to life after World War II as a Vought supe and the leader of a brand-new superhero outfit. None of the partying anecdotes Soldier Boy spent most of The Boys recounting have happened at this point, and his aura of cockiness will not be fully developed yet. In one of his softer moments, Soldier Boy once admitted that his younger self agreed to Compound-V trails largely due to feeling inferior and insecure, so his trademark brashness will likely be absent throughout Vought Rising, replaced by immaturity and fear. Being so out of sync with modern life does a lot of heavy lifting for Soldier Boy's character in The Boys, but he'll be right at home in Vought Rising. The 1950s is Soldier Boy's time, inevitably making him a much more grounded personality on the Vought roster. In this era, Soldier Boy would have already been touted as a war hero by Vought's PR machine (newspapers and radio, not social media and VNN), but he still won't be the experienced, veteran hero seen in The Boys. He'll be green, hesitant, and perhaps even showing a hint of impostor syndrome. Soldier Boy won't have his radioactive blast power either, meaning he'll no longer feel like some chaotic force that cannot be contained. He'll be strong, he'll carry a shield, and that'll be about it. The plus side is that 1950s Soldier Boy won't drag around the baggage of his years trapped in a lab and being experimented on. More importantly, Clara (otherwise known as Stormfront) will give Soldier Boy something to care about beyond himself. A genuine, albeit ill-fated, love story. In The Boys, Soldier Boy was a man of occasional danger, regular gross-out comedy, and the constant emotional trauma that comes from decades as the face of Vought. In Vought Rising, Soldier Boy must be something else entirely. Network Prime Video Directors Philip Sgriccia, Shana Stein, Sam Miller Writers Eric Kripke, Paul Grellong, Jim Barnes, Lauren Greer, Matt Berns, Paul Keables, Sheila Wilson, Sophia Lopez Cast Elizabeth Posey Private Angel