The Boys season 5: Release date speculation and latest news

The news was announced on Instagram by Mother’s Milk star Laz Alonso, who shared a picture of The Boys cast reuniting as they prepare to film the show’s final season alongside the caption: "And just like that….. we’re back!"

Alongside Alonso, the picture features Starr, Jessie T Usher, Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Chace Crawford, Colby Minifie and Nathan Mitchell.

While the long-awaited final season of Prime Video's superhero hit isn't expected to be released anytime soon, thankfully details have been emerging here and there, from a new casting announcement to hints about the plot.

Although the cast don't yet know how the series is going to end, Hughie Campbell star Jack Quaid teased to RadioTimes.com: "It’s our last season so the writers can kind of do whatever they want which is terrifying, so I’m expecting a lot of murder! I think that’s what you can expect, probably, I don’t know, I’m just assuming."

But, as we continue the grand wait for new episodes and for upcoming spin-off Vought Rising, here's everything we know so far about The Boys season 5 – warning: season 4 spoilers ahead.

The Boys season 5 release date speculation

While we don't have a specific release date for The Boys season 5, it will be will be released in 2026, as confirmed in an Instagram post by actor Karl Urban.

Alongside a picture of co-star Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Urban wrote: "Working with the illustrious @jeffreydeanmorgan was the best part of my day every day. That’s all @theboystv for now folks. See you in …2 years (wish it was sooner) for the final season on @primevideo."

A 2026 release date would be consistent with the two-year hiatuses between seasons 2 and 3 and 3 and 4.

Filming kicked off on 25th November 2024.

Creator Eric Kripke confirmed the filming start date to Collider earlier this month, adding that it's going to be difficult dealing with the fact that the series is coming to an end.

He said: "I’m fortunate, in that I get to maintain my denial for quite a while because I’m so busy right now…

"Just the amount of work, it’s so busy that I think somewhere in the middle of the season, it’s gonna hit me, and hit me really emotionally. I’ve been wilfully denying it. It hasn’t totally sunk in. That will be hard."

The Boys season 5 cast

The following stars have been confirmed to star in The Boys season 5:

• Jack Quaid as Hughie Campbell
• Karl Urban as Billy Butcher
• Antony Starr as Homelander
• Erin Moriarty as Annie/Starlight
• Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk
• Jessie T Usher as A-Train
• Chace Crawford as The Deep
• Tomer Capone as Serge/Frenchie
• Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko
• Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett
• Cameron Crovetti as Ryan
• Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy
• Mason Dye as Bombsight
• Daveed Diggs as TBC

Jensen Ackles will reprise his role as Soldier Boy in The Boys season 5, it has been confirmed.

The news was announced at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday (26th July), in which Ackles made a surprise appearance.

Showrunner Eric Kripke said (via Deadline): "We can announce that Soldier Boy will be a regular in season 5. The motherf***er’s back."

Kripke had previously said in a 2022 interview: "We’ll all have to wait and see, but I can’t imagine the series ending without Soldier Boy making another appearance."

It was also revealed that Ackles will appear in a new prequel series called Vought Rising once The Boys comes to an end with season 5.

We're not sure at the moment as to who else could return, but it seems likely that all of the main stars from The Boys season 4 will be back for season 5 – at least those who survived.

While we assumed that meant we wouldn't be seeing Claudia Doumit's Victoria Neuman again due to her death in the season 4 finale, Deadline has listed Doumit as a cast member who's set to return. We also wouldn't expect to see Robins's Grace Mallory again, except in flashback form, after her demise.

We also have some new castings to look forward to! Stranger Things star Mason Dye, who played Jason Carver in the series, has been cast as Bombsight.

While little is known about the character, Bombsight has actually been mentioned in The Boys before – in season 4, it was mentioned that he starred in the 1950s film The Curse of Fu Manchu from Vought International.

Sources claimed to the outlet that Dye will also appear in upcoming spin-off Vought Rising but Prime Video declined to comment on that element of the casting.

Dye isn't the only new face we'll see in season 5, with Daveed Diggs, star of Hamilton, Snowpiercer and The Little Mermaid, recently being cast in a mysterious role in the upcoming season.

Why will The Boys season 5 be the final season?

Showrunner Eric Kripke has explained his reasoning for ending The Boys with its fifth season, saying it was always his plan and he just had to convince Prime Video.

He told TVLine that Prime Video pushed back "lovingly", adding: "There was no, like, 'You have to keep this show going.' It was more of like a very friendly and respectful, like, 'Are you sure season 5 is the last season? Are you sure you don’t want to do more?'"

He continued: "But we were already, like, barreling towards this. The truth is we knew that it was going to be a five-season story for years now. I mean, probably since writing the beginning of season 3, we knew, and so we were already laying down track that was always heading in this direction.

"Honestly, they’ve been great about letting us end it on our own terms. I’m really grateful."

However, fans don't need to worry that the fifth season will be a full-stop on the world of The Boys. With a second season of Gen V on the way, and another Mexico-set spin-off in development, it seems there is plenty of potential for the universe to run and run.

Kripke told Entertainment Weekly: "This story of The Boys will not continue on. With any luck, Gen V will continue on, there will be hopefully a couple others in development that we're talking about that can continue on, but The Boys story ends in season 5."

Is there a trailer for The Boys season 5?

There isn't a trailer available for The Boys season 5 yet, and as it has yet to start filming it is likely to be a while until we get one.

We will add any new footage from season 5 in here as and when it is released, but in the meantime you can rewatch the season 4 trailer below.

The Boys seasons 1-4 are available to stream now on Prime Video – try Amazon Prime Video for free for 30 days. Plus, read our guides to the best Amazon Prime series and the best movies on Amazon Prime.

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