The Boys are coming back for one last fight

Austen Goslin (he/him) is an entertainment editor. He writes about the latest TV shows and movies, and particularly loves all things horror.

The Boys has come through with its most climactic season finale yet — including a stinger with a pretty major returning character (more on that below). Unfortunately that also means it ended on one hell of a cliffhanger.

The good news is, we know for a fact that The Boys is coming back for one last season, so the wait for answers shouldn’t be that long. Ahead of that though, here’s everything we know about The Boys season 5.

[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for The Boys season 4.]

Is The Boys season 5 happening?

It is. The Boys has already been renewed for its fifth and final season. The announcement came shortly before the release of season 4, and came via a post on X from showrunner and creator Eric Kripke, saying:

#TheBoys Season 4 Premiere Week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the Final Season! Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final OK from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax. Watch Season 4 in 2 DAYS, cause the end has begun!

When will The Boys season 5 release?

There’s really no telling when the show’s next season might arrive, but it’s probably safe to assume it won’t be until at least 2026. At San Diego Comic-Con 2024, Kripke announced the writer’s room had been in production for two months already. But with each of the show’s seasons so far having had a two-year gap between them, and add in the fact that Gen V is filming another season at the moment, it seems like 2026 is a pretty solid guess.

What will The Boys season 5 be about?

Considering where season 4 ended, it seems like we’re setting up for a pretty apocalyptic final season. A showdown with Homelander always seemed like how the series had to end, and now that Homelander is functionally heading up marshal law in America, it seems like we’re finally ready for the big battle. Of course, as part of that we’ll also have to follow what happens to all the supes that are now in jail, and Butcher now that he’s out on his own — with some new powers to boot.

And as teased in the very final scene of the season, Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy will be returning. Given that he’s the only one powerful enough to defeat Homelander, he could play a pretty big role in the next season — so it’s no surprise that Ackles showed up at SDCC 2024 to say he will be a series regular in season 5.

At SDCC, Karen Fukuhara (who plays Kimiko) also expressed delight that she’ll get to talk in season 5. “What if she’s, like, a chatterbox?”

Will Gen V season 2 come out first?

This is almost guaranteed, but we don’t know Gen V season 2’s release date either. But since it started filming recently, you can bet (probably; hopefully!) it’ll be on Prime Video sometime next year.