A new photo of The Boys season 3 star Jensen Ackles sparks speculation that he may be returning as Soldier Boy in the upcoming season 4.
The Boys star Jensen Ackles has ignited conversation around his possible return in season 4. He stars in the irreverent Prime Video superhero show as Soldier Boy, a twist Captain America who was the former leader of the supe team Payback and hadn’t been seen since his capture in the Cold War until season 3. Although the show, which also stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, and Antony Starr, has been renewed for season 4, it has not yet been officially confirmed that Ackles will return.
On Twitter, fan Natalie shared an image of Jensen Ackles wearing a baseball cap promoting The Boys season 4. This has sparked speculation that he will indeed be returning in the upcoming season. Check out the post below:
The caption of the post reads “HE’S WEARING A THE BOYS SEASON 4 CAP !!?!”
Will Soldier Boy Return in The Boys Season 4?
While it remains to be seen if Soldier Boy will return, all signs are pointing to yes. For one thing, there are strong narrative reasons for Ackles to reprise his role. Over the course of his appearance on the show, it came to light that Soldier Boy is the biological father of Anthony Starr’s corrupt supe character Homelander, a revelation that shook the foundation of the show.
The The Boys season 3 ending also set up the possibility for his return, because while Soldier Boy was defeated, he was merely incarcerated and not killed. He also made a surprise appearance in an episode of the spinoff show Gen V. While this appearance was a hallucination and doesn’t indicate that the character is back in action, it shows that Ackles himself is still in the orbit of the show’s universe and may have been on hand during the filming of season 4.
Filming for The Boys season 4 wrapped in April 2023, and the season is set to premiere sometime in 2024. Thus, there is not much longer that the secret of Soldier Boy’s involvement can be kept. Given Ackles’ hat, which may have been a wrap gift for participating in the production, it seems likely that Soldier Boy’s return will be officially announced as part of the promotional campaign once an official release date for the season is set.