Eric Kripke 'Bummed Out' The Boys Season 5 Was Written Before the Presidential Election, Homelander Says 'The Craziest Line We Could Think Of… and It's Already Happened'

With The Boys Season 5 astir upon us, showrunner Eric Kripke has discussed the instauration of this 5th and last play of Amazon’s Prime Video superhero show. And successful doing truthful helium has revealed that it has go astir intolerable for the writers to efficaciously parody modern America.

First, a speedy recap. The Boys Season 5 revolves astir evil supervillain Homelander's effort to recognize what helium believes to beryllium his existent destiny: immortality. The Boys, led by Billy Butcher, pb a absorption to Homelander's fascist regularisation implicit America, and anticipation to usage a microorganism to hitch retired each supe connected the planet. “We request to hole America for my ascension,” Homelander says successful a precocious released trailer, sitting beauteous successful the Oval Office.

Here’s the authoritative blurb connected The Boys Season 5:

In the 5th and last season, it’s Homelander’s world, wholly taxable to his erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Frenchie are imprisoned successful a “Freedom Camp.” Annie struggles to equine a absorption against the overwhelming Supe force. Kimiko is obscurity to beryllium found. But erstwhile Butcher reappears, acceptable and consenting to usage a microorganism that volition hitch each Supes disconnected the map, helium sets successful question a concatenation of events that volition everlastingly alteration the satellite and everyone successful it. It’s the climax, people. Big stuff’s gonna happen.

Clearly successful notation to caller events successful America, and with a motion to Homelander arsenic a instrumentality connected President Donald Trump, Kripke told TV Guide that helium was “bummed out” that Season 5 was written earlier the statesmanlike election, which took spot successful November 2024.

“I’m wholly bummed retired to accidental we wrote it earlier the election. It sounds ace naive now, but I curse the program was, ‘Let’s constitute a 1984 mentation of what creeping authoritarianism looks similar successful America,’ and possibly everyone volition beryllium like, ‘Whew, we truly dodged a bullet.’ But instead, we got deed with the bullet,” Kripke said.

Kripke went connected to accidental that the writers would travel up with outlandish ideas that astatine the clip seemed implausible, but person since go reality. “And a batch of things that were far-fetched for us, we’re similar — ‘That’s crazy!’ — person travel to walk successful a mode that’s truly really f***ing troubling,” helium explained.

And without spoiling the show, Kripke revealed that successful Episode 7 of Season 5, Homelander says a enactment that the writers felt was the “craziest” they could deliberation of, but “it’s already happened.

“There’s a enactment — I won’t springiness it distant — but there’s a enactment successful Episode 7 that Homelander says that was the craziest enactment we could deliberation of, and it’s already happened,” Kripke said.

The Boys: The History of Soldier Boy and Payback

The Boys is simply a ace gory satire of the superhero genre based connected the comic publication of the aforesaid sanction by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. It follows the eponymous squad of vigilantes who enactment to bring down a radical of supervillains (The Seven). Homelander, played by Antony Starr, is simply a demented despot who rules The Seven with an robust fist. The different supes connected the squad unrecorded successful fearfulness of his temper swings and his overpowered abilities, which springiness him carte blanche to bash immoderate helium wants, whenever helium wants.

In May 2025, Starr spoke of his astonishment astatine the glorification of Homelander by immoderate The Boys fans, calling it “surreal.”

"We had a clump of guys that we each benignant of knocked them down a small but connected societal media to say, 'This feline is not the leader of immoderate story.'" Starr said. "They were truly glorifying him, they loved him. Which is surreal."

Starr added that helium was amazed to find immoderate The Boys fans siding with Homelander, fixed the outrageously evil actions helium takes successful the show. "What I didn't expect was that radical would beryllium truthful conflicted astir it and, you know, uncovering themselves uncovering empathy for this monster."

And successful 2024, up of The Boys Season 4, Kripke responded to fans saying Homelander is simply a hero, saying: "Some radical who ticker it deliberation Homelander is the hero. What bash you accidental to that? The show’s galore things. Subtle isn’t 1 of them. So if that’s the connection you’re getting from it, I conscionable propulsion up my hands.”

Kripe has besides said that Homelander was ever intended to beryllium a proxy for Donald Trump. “When Seth [Rogen] and Evan [Goldberg] and I took it retired to pitch, it was 2016," helium explained. "We conscionable wanted to bash a precise realistic mentation of a superhero show, 1 wherever superheroes are celebrities behaving badly.

"Trump was the, ‘He’s not truly getting the nomination, is he?’ guy. When helium got elected, we had a metaphor that said much astir the existent world. Suddenly, we were telling a communicative astir the intersection of personage and authoritarianism and however societal media and amusement are utilized to merchantability fascism. We’re close successful the oculus of the storm. And erstwhile we realized that, I conscionable felt an work to tally successful that absorption arsenic acold arsenic we could.”

In August past year, histrion Antony Starr waved goodbye to Homelander aft Season 5 wrapped production, saying: “This analyzable quality allowed the abstraction and scope to observe and propulsion boundaries successful a mode I ne'er expected and I volition ever beryllium grateful for this experience.”

Thanking Kripke, Starr added: “We created a monster, sir. And I volition miss him, and you.”

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].