"The Boys" Prequel "Vought Rising" in Works at Amazon with Jensen Ackles, Aya Cash

“The Boys” universe is expanding with a prequel series titled, “Vought Rising.” 

It will star Jensen Ackles and Aya Cash reprising their “Boys” roles as Soldier Boy and Stormfront, respectively.

The prequel will be set in 1950s New York. Ackles came on stage during “The Boys” Comic-Con panel Friday and made the announcement, calling the prequel a “lurid pulp saga prequel.” 

Ackles also confirmed he will be returning for “The Boys” fifth and final season, following his cameo in last week’s Season 4 finale.

“We are excited to bring you the next deranged series from the world of ‘The Boys,'” “The Boys” creator Eric Kripke and “Vought Rising” showrunner Paul Grellong said in a statement. "It’s a twisted murder mystery about the origins of Vought in the 1950s, the early exploits of Soldier Boy, and the diabolical maneuvers of a supe known to fans as Stormfront, who was then going by the name Clara Vought. We cannot wait to blow your minds and trouble your souls with this salacious, grisly saga drenched in blood and Compound V.”

“The Boys” Comic-Con panel, which comes one week after the Season 4 finale dropped on Amazon July 18, included Kripke and cast members Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Karen Fukuhara, Tomer Capone, Laz Alonso, Antony Starr, Jessie T. Usher, Claudia Doumit, Nathan Mitchell, Chace Crawford, Susan Heyward and Valorie Curry. 

Ackles made a surprise appearance at the end, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who joined the cast in Season 4 as CIA agent Joe Kessler) moderated the panel.

It kicked off with a musical medley of “The Boys” in-universe songs, including “Chimps Don’t Cry,” “Never Truly Vanish,” “Let’s Put the Christ Back in Christmas”  and A-Train’s rap “Faster.”

“The Boys” wrapped up Season 4 last week with several cliffhangers leading into the show’s fifth and final season.

Homelander (Starr) has effectively taken over the U.S. government, after the new president has enacted martial law. 

Homelander and Vought’s power has dramatically increased, and now all of the Boys have been split up, kidnapped and taken to undisclosed locations — meaning Hughie (Quaid), Starlight (Moriarty), Mother’s Milk (Alonso), Frenchie (Capone) and Kimiko (Fukuhara) are missing in action. 

A post-credits scene also revealed that Ackles’ supe Soldier Boy, a Captain America ripoff introduced in Season 3, has been preserved in a cryo-chamber. 

In Season 3, Homelander learned that Soldier Boy is his father, setting up an awkward family reunion for Season 5.

The Season 4 finale, which featured an attempted attack by a shapeshifter on the president-elect and the successful murder of the vice-president elect Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) by Butcher (Karl Urban), came just a few days after the real-life assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. 

The episode was originally called “Assassination Run,” but was retitled to simply “Season Four Finale.” 

There was also a content warning, explaining that the episode was shot in 2023 and “any similarities” were “coincidental and unintentional.”

“The season finale of ‘The Boys’ contains scenes of fictional political violence, which some viewers may find disturbing, especially in light of the injuries and tragic loss of life sustained during the assassination attempt on former President Trump,” read a statement shared by Prime Video. “‘The Boys’ is a fictitious series that was filmed in 2023, and any scene or plotline similarities to these real-world events are coincidental and unintentional. Amazon, Sony Pictures Television and the producers of ‘The Boys’ reject, in the strongest terms, real-world violence of any kind.”