Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy return in The Boys season 5 has been confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con, and the extent of his role is exactly what the Amazon Prime Video show needs after season 4. Screen Rant was in attendance at The Boys’ SDCC 2024 panel, during which the stars of the show celebrated the conclusion of season 4 and teased what was coming next. In addition to The Boys season 5, the franchise will continue to expand with Gen V season 2 and a brand-new prequel series called Vought Rising.
Ackles will reprise his role as Soldier Boy in Vought Rising, which will be set in the 1950s and will also see the return of Aya Cash as Stormfront. In addition to his starring role in the upcoming spinoff, Ackles will also be in The Boys season 5. Although Soldier Boys’ return is not surprising considering The Boys season 4’s post-credits scene, his role in the final season sounds very exciting. After missing most of the latest season, Soldier Boy was confirmed to be alive and in cryosleep after Calcoun revealed his location to Homelander.
It’s Great That Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy Will Be A Regular In The Boys Season 5
The Boys Season 5 Already Sounds Exciting
Jensen Ackles returning as Soldier Boy for The Boys season 5 as a series regular is great news for the show, especially after how season 4 played out. While The Boys’ latest season had great moments, Ackles’ character was missed. Soldier Boy was arguably the best thing about The Boys season 3, bringing a new dynamic into a show that was starting to become repetitive. Whereas Homelander was obviously not going to be defeated in season 3, Soldier Boy was a wild card whose fate was impossible to predict.
Ackles’ performance as Soldier Boy was particularly great, adding a hilarious twist to the “Captain America” trope. The Boys’ version of Soldier Boy was an improvement from the comics and even rivaled Homelander in terms of how impactful and successful it became. The fact that Soldier Boy was revealed to be Homelander’s father made it all even more interesting. After stealing the show in the third season, Soldier Boy was missing during most of season 4 and only showed up at the very end for a scene that confirmed he was still alive.
The Lack Of Soldier Boy In The Boys Season 4 Was Disappointing
Soldier Boy Stole The Show In The Boys Season 3
While The Boys has plenty of storylines going on in addition to Soldier Boy and his relationship with Homelander, season 4 could have used more of Ackles’ character. Soldier Boy was such a great addition to the show that it was strange not to have him in season 4 at all, even though it made sense to focus on other characters. Soldier Boy was defeated at the end of season 3, which is why bringing him back too early would have lessened the impact of the previous finale. Still, The Boys was not the same without him.
Jensen Ackles briefly reprised his role as Soldier Boy in Gen V season 1, although it was all in Cate’s mind.
The conflict between Homelander and the boys has set the narrative for The Boys ever since the first episode. However, each season has had its own set of antagonists and major players. For example, Stormfront was the focus of season 2; season 3 was all about Soldier Boy; and season 4 was defined by Sister Sage’s plan to give Homelander the White House. Homelander and his allies won in The Boys season 4, so it will be interesting to see how all of it ties together in the final season, especially after the Soldier Boy reveal at San Diego Comic-Con.
Predicting Soldier Boy’s Role In The Boys Season 5
Will Soldier Boy Help Homelander Create A World For Supes?
The Boys season 4’s ending suggests that Homelander is happy to have found Soldier Boy, even though they were not on great terms the last time they saw each other. Soldier Boy is not particularly proud of his son and teamed up with Butcher against Homelander before it all escalated once Ryan got involved. That said, it is difficult to imagine that Soldier Boy would align himself with the Boys or Butcher again. Now that Homelander is creating a new world where supes will rule, Soldier Boy may finally work side by side with his son.
Soldier Boy is very reckless and unstable, so it is difficult to predict what he will do once Homelander wakes him up. Still, the fact that Ackles will be a series regular in The Boys season 5 confirms that Soldier Boy will be a major play in the show’s grand finale. As great as having more of Soldier Boy in season 4 would have been, the post-credits scene teasing his return made season 5 even more exciting. Fortunately, Soldier Boy will be back not just for a cameo but for an entire season.
