Among the many potential plotlines and characters coming for the upcoming third season of The Boys, the show's latest addition of Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy is certainly at the top of the list.
Much like in the graphic novel, The Boys' Soldier Boy is essentially an evil version of Captain America. So, any sneak peeks of what fans can expect to see from his interpretation of Soldier Boy are welcome, and that's exactly what Ackles did the other day.
On his own personal Instagram page, Ackles released a picture of him that, according to the man himself, was from exactly one year ago when he grew out his beard in preparation for the role as the show started filming its third season. Ackles also acknowledged how he couldn't wait for the fans to see what was in store for them, with his role as Soldier Boy soon to come to light. With the photo, Ackles wrote a caption to go along with it. "Thanks iPhone for reminding me what I looked like a year ago today. All prepped and ready for some #soldierboy action!!! Can’t wait for @theboystv S3. It’s gonna get hairy," Ackles said. Other big names like NFL long snapper Jon Denrobos and actors Justin Hartley and Max Thieriot made note of Ackles' beard and body transformation in preparation of his role as Soldier Boy.
Fans should be excited for Ackles' addition because of his extensive work in media that deal with the supernatural, like, well, Supernatural, as well as his standout performance in the revered Batman animated movie Under the Red Hood from 2010. What's even better is that it's been confirmed that, unlike his comic counterpart, Ackles' interpretation of Soldier Boy is going to be even more callous and cold-hearted than Homelander himself, which says a lot knowing the blood on Homelander's hands.
That should set the stage for what season 3 of The Boys will be about, factoring in everything that happened at the end of season 2. Since Homelander looked like he was on the edge of going on a rampage, seeing someone who's in a worse place than he is changes things up a bit. In spite of Homelander being portrayed as essentially Evil Superman who is an all-out sociopath, the series has shown hints of sympathy for him through his upbringing. Perhaps the addition of Soldier Boy may add more sympathy to such a disturbed character. We've seen arguably the extent of Evil Superman, but perhaps Evil Captain America could bring a whole new disturbing level to this alternative take on superheroes.
As exciting as that all sounds, it's not necessarily a slam dunk. Ackles is a good enough actor that he'll do his part, but we've seen good performances not mesh because the show as a whole wasn't good enough to keep up. Inserting an Evil Captain America sounds exciting on paper, but adding more evil to a show that's all about superheroes already being the antagonists could lead to them overdoing things.
The Boys season 3 will premiere on Amazon Prime on June 3rd, 2022.
Source: Jensen Ackles/Instagram