Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: the boys, the boys: vought rising

The Boys Season 5 Is Doing a Nice Job of Setting Up "Vought Rising"

Showrunner Eric Kripke's The Boys has done a nice job setting up Jensen Ackles and Aya Cash-starring The Boys: Vought Rising. Here's how...

While Showrunner Eric Kripke's The Boys might be wrapping up its final run, it's also setting up what the future has in store – or, in this case, the past. If you had a chance to check out S05E03: "Every One of You Sons of Bitches," then you know that viewers were treated to some ten-ton easter eggs connecting to Showrunner Paul Grellong's Jensen Ackles (Soldier Boy) and Aya Cash (Clara Vought, aka Stormfront)-starring prequel series The Boys: Vought Rising. If you haven't seen it, then consider the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign is on – meaning you might want to screen it first and then come back. Otherwise, we will see you on the other side of the image spoiler buffer:

Despite what appeared to be a quite brutal and ugly death, Soldier Boy was back and better than ever – and that was the catalyst for some serious "Vought Rising" intel. First up, Dr. Sameer Shah (Omid Abtahi) and Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) shared what it is about Soldier Boy, Clara, Bombsight (Mason Dye), Torpedo (Will Hochman), and Private Angel (Elizabeth Posey) that makes them so special. Those five were the first ones to be injected with V1 (the original form of Compound V) and live. With V1 being ten times stronger than the current run of Compound V, those original supes never age – and it's why Soldier Boy was able to survive Butcher's (Karl Urban) supes-killing virus.

If you missed it, make sure that you go back and watch Soldier Boy's reaction to hearing Clara's name: definitely a sign of things to come. And then there was the not-so-small matter of Fort Harmony, revealed during the episode as the army hospital where Frederick Vought worked. With the classified site decommissioned by the U.S. government shortly after WWII ended, MM (Laz Alonso) pitched that it was the location where V1 was first tested. And that was all in just one episode. With a greater focus on Soldier Boy this season (and Bombsight set to appear), we have a feeling that more clues are on the way.

The Boys: Vought Rising: Jensen Ackles on Soldier Boy Being "Top Dog"

During an interview with Collider, alongside Laz Alonso, to promote the final season of the franchise series, Ackles explained that the vibe of the spinoff will be similar to The Boys, but Soldier Boy will be at his prime during this go-around. "Listen, it's going to feel familiar, as far as the format of it all, because I think that's taking what really works with 'The Boys' and trying to do something a little bit different with it, certainly as a period piece in the 1950s. But I'll speak personally. The Soldier Boy aspect of it is I'm used to playing, and we're used to seeing Soldier Boy in modern times, but he is a, I like to say, analog man in a digital world, so he's a fish out of water with what we know of him now," Ackles shared. "Now we're getting to see him be relevant, getting to see him in his actual environment where he feels like this is where he belongs. He's the top dog. But you also get to see the experience as to why he ended up the way he did. We get to kind of peel back the layers of what truly happened in that time."

In line with what Kripke has discussed in the past, the plan is for there to be multiple seasons of "Vought Rising," something Ackles sounds more than keen on becoming a reality. "When they pitched it, they were like, 'Hey, we're thinking about doing this prequel thing, going back to the 1950s with Soldier Boy.' I don't think I let them finish the sentence before I was like, 'Yes!' But I know that the intent is to have it be a multi-season show."

"That's a wrap on filming this season of Vought Rising," began the caption to Grellong's post, which included a look at director's chairs for "Clara Vought" and "Soldier Boy" as the image. "I'm so proud and beyond fortunate to make this show alongside the greatest crew I've ever worked with, a brilliant cast led by [Jensen Ackles] and [Aya Cash] that will blow the world away (just you wait), and a wildly gifted team of writers — all with the tireless support of our essential partners at Sony and Amazon."

The showrunner continued, "Big thanks and three cheers to [Eric Kripke], a mentor and friend like no other. Eric, what you brought to this season… to call it 'guidance' would be an understatement. It's the honor of a lifetime to grow the VCU together. Thank you, pal. Could not have done it without you — and wouldn't have wanted to. And now, on to post. I speak for everyone here when I say we're excited to show you what we've made…"

"Finishing out with a bang! It's been an absolute thrill ride. Thanks to the crew and cast and all those that gave so much time and energy to make this happen. You're all a bunch of psychos…and I love you for it," Ackles wrote as the caption to his video post when filming wrapped, which you can check out below:

Kripke on Possible Gen V Crossover, "Vought Rising" Costumes

Near the end of August 2025, Kripke shared some interesting insights regarding a possible second season of Gen V and how he envisioned Ethan Slater's Thomas Godolkin appearing. If that name sounds familiar, it's because Slater's Godolkin University founder would end up appearing in a very big way during the second season of Gen V, featuring flashback scenes set in the early to mid-1960s – and more. With "Vought Rising" Season 1 taking place in the 1950s, Kripke has eyes on an appearance from Thomas Godolkin. "If 'Vought Rising' works and we can keep doing more [seasons], I think we'd be insane to not put Ethan Slater's character in that show. He's right there, lined up for a younger Thomas Godolkin. We've discussed it," Kripke shared with EW.

As for the looks of the four Supes we've seen so far, Kripke shared the thought process that went into the designs while working with Grellong and costume designer L.J. Shannon. "We got to have this really in-depth conversation of, 'How would they have started?' The first suits that anyone wore were military suits, which are performative and ornamental. So they would emerge from that pretty naturally. If you're a military person, you wanna wear a suit that looks like you're in the Air Force and Navy and Army," Kripke shared.

However, as more and more supes begin entering the private sector, the visuals change. "Things start getting flashier because it's about showmanship. It's less about military discipline and more about consumerism, and then you start to see them evolve that way. It's really fascinating," he added. Of course, none of this would've been possible without the costume work, with Kripke offering Shannon some serious praise for the amazing work. "Once you really can zoom in on those suits, you see that she custom-made every button, she custom-made every single thing that's on that suit. Every button has a different logo per hero," he shared.

Along with Ackles and Cash, the spinoff prequel also stars Will Hochman (Blue Bloods), Elizabeth Posey (Euphoria), Jorden Myrie (Bridgerton), Nicolò Pasetti (Industry), Ricky Staffieri (The Bear), Brian J. Smith (Sense8), Mason Dye (Stranger Things), KiKi Layne (The Old Guard 2), Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live), Mark Pellegrino (American Rust), Eric Johnson ("Fifty Shades" franchise), Annie Shapero (House of the Dragon), Raphael Sbarge (Task), Romi Shraiter (Ginny & Georgia), Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica), and David Hewlett (Mistletoe Murders).

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