The Boys season 4 release date speculation: Latest on Amazon Prime Video series

While plot details are largely being kept under wraps for the next instalment, it will be “very intense” according to Jack Quaid, who stars as Hughie Campbell on the hit Amazon Prime series.

"It's my favourite season we've ever shot," he told Esquire. "It's a very intense season. You really get to mine the depth of every character—and it still has those 'What just happened?!' moments."

He continued: "Audiences are still going to be surprised and will be really into the direction that it takes. We take some chances that I think are really awesome. It's our best one yet."

The Boys was officially renewed for a fourth season on Friday 10th June 2022, just one week after season 3 premiered on Amazon Prime Video with strong reviews and fan engagement.

“Speaking for the cast and crew, we’re so grateful to Sony, Amazon and most of all the fans for embracing the show and allowing us to make more," said showrunner Kripke in a statement.

"We’re thrilled to continue Butcher and the Boys’ fight against Homelander and the Seven, as well as comment on the insane world we’re living in. Also, this is the first time in history that exploding genitalia has led to further success."

Some fans have theorised that the show was nearing its natural conclusion during season 3, but Kripke refused to weigh in when quizzed by RadioTimes.com, citing his past claim that Supernatural would end after five seasons (it ran for 15 in total).

He said: "As the person who was literally the most wrong in the world of how long a show should go – like, there's no showrunner in the history of the medium who has ever been so wrong about when his show was going to end – I would say that I've learned well from that mistake and I don't really give away where my endpoints are anymore."

Here's everything we know about The Boys season 4 so far.

The Boys season 4 release date speculation

Filming on season 4 wrapped in April 2023, meaning we were expecting to see a late 2023 release date at the earliest.

However, showrunner Erik Kripke recently took to Twitter to share an update on season 4, revealing that the show won’t premiere until the WGA Strike has come to an end.

Given that no agreement has been reached, which would signal an end to the walkouts, it is not currently known when will the WGA Strike will be over.

The Boys season 4 cast: Who could return?

While Amazon Prime Video is yet to release an official cast list for The Boys season 4, it seems almost certain that series leads Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Laz Alonso, Karen Fukuhara and Tomer Capone will reprise their roles as Billy Butcher's vigilante squad.

The show wouldn't be complete without Antony Starr's chilling Homelander, with Chace Crawford and Colby Minifie also likely to return as his sycophantic underlings The Deep and Ashley Barrett.

We could also see more from Jessie T Usher as A-Train, who briefly looked like he could be written out of the show after a cardiac arrest midway through season 3, only to be brought back to life by the scientists at Vought.

Usher told RadioTimes.com what he wants to see in season 4: "I'd like to see A-Train interact with the Boys a little bit more. I feel like he only sees them in passing, he doesn't really get a lot of opportunity to even engage with them.

"And I feel like he's aware of a lot of what they're doing and he's choosing to ignore a lot. I feel like just seeing him acknowledge the world around him a little bit more, it would be pretty interesting if we were to get into season 4."

After the third season of The Boys concluded with the gang turning on their new ally Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), fans might be wondering whether Ackles will return for season 4.

Well, if Soldier Boy’s not dead, Ackles could return – but that’s yet to be confirmed.

What could happen in The Boys season 4?

Creator Eric Kripke previously told RadioTimes.com that the season 3 finale – which left the cast in a pretty dire situation as Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) learned he doesn’t have very long to live – will pave the way for the next instalment.

"The storylines that we have set up need to smash into each other at the end of this season," he explained. "And out of that explosion comes the new threads of the storyline, that then we pick up [in] season 4."

Jessie T Usher, who plays speedster A-Train in the superhero drama, added that The Seven is "worse off than when we began" by the end of season 3, which could mean even more unpredictable behaviour ahead from its remaining members.

The story of The Boys season 4 is likely to be another mix of plot elements from the original comic books and new ideas inspired by real-world headlines.

In July 2022, Karl Urban revealed to Collider that even he wasn't sure exactly what would happen in the next season, but he had no doubt it would be "insane".

"We're about two months away from filming, and I have no idea [what will happen]. So that'll tell you something, but yeah, not too far away... I'm actually going to be seeing Kripke next week and I expect conversations will start to happen about what he's got in store," said Urban.

"I like to give them the respect of being able to do their writing process and not be harassed by actors going, "What are we doing?" But I can't wait. They always come up with insane stuff, so yeah, it's going to be fun."

In conversation with RadioTimes.com, showrunner Eric Kripke outlined his belief that each episode of The Boys should be narratively satisfying even when viewed in isolation, so expect a similar plot structure to be present next season.

He explained: "I think every episode should have a story. I'm so endlessly irritated by pretentious streaming showrunners who say, ‘well really what we’re making is an eight-episode movie’. It's like, ‘go f**k yourself, man’.

"We're in the television business and it's our job to make episodes of television, there's a reason they're called the episodes. And so for me, I want every episode... to have its own beginning, middle and end. And I need the season to have a beginning, middle and end."

Kripke added: "There's some people who not only have no resolution in their episodes, they have no resolutions in their seasons, and they're expecting you to make an investment of 16 hours before you get to anything – and that's insane to me."

Kripke also confirmed that upcoming show, The Boys Presents: Varsity, will blend with season 3 and season 4.

"There’s definitely crossover," Kripke told Deadline. "And we’re doing our best to design a universe that sees some of the issues and storylines in season 3 hand off to the first season of Varsity."

"There’s a presidential campaign happening in the background of that season and there’s certain things that are happening at that school that are both in reaction to season 3 of The Boys.

"There’s Soldier Boy, etcetera, but also some new storylines that are happening in that season of the spin-off that we have to pick up and take into season 4 of the show."

Is there a The Boys season 4 trailer?

Not yet! But we'll be sure to update this page when the first footage drops.

The Boys seasons 1-3 are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video - try Amazon Prime Video free for 30 days. Check out more of our Sci-Fi and Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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