Should you watch The Boys Presents: Diabolical before The Boys season 3? Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg spent many years getting a live-action The Boys adaptation off the ground. Two successful seasons on Amazon have justified their faith, and The Boys season 3 is highly anticipated ahead of a June 3, 2022 premiere date. Before that, we've got The Boys: Diabolical to attend to - the first of several planned spinoffs for Homelander and his pals.
Unlike the main show, The Boys: Diabolical is an animated anthology, with each standalone story animated in a different style and written by a different name from a pool of talented individuals that includes Awkwafina, Andy Samberg, and Aisha Tyler. As each of the 8 episodes clocks in around the 12-minute mark, The Boys: Diabolical cannot be accused of outstaying its welcome. Nevertheless, many fans of The Boys will be wondering how directly the spinoff connects to Amazon's main show - and, more specifically, whether it'll have any significant bearing upon The Boys season 3.
The short answer is no, The Boys: Diabolical is not required viewing to properly understand The Boys season 3. Although most of the spinoff's 8 episodes take place within the same continuity as Amazon's live-action TV series - and also contain familiar faces such as Homelander and The Deep - each diabolical tale exists in isolation. Some are inspired by moments from The Boys seasons 1 and 2 (such as Vought's Compound-V secret going public), others are connected by only the loosest, most tenuous thread, but none overtly develop The Boys' overarching story in a way that could prove imperative come season 3.
Of course, that's not to say The Boys: Diabolical won't enhance fans' enjoyment of The Boys season 3 in some way. A handful of spinoff-original characters could potentially appear in live-action one day (probably not the living tongue or Picante Balls, sadly), and the episode delving into Homelander's history with Black Noir could add flavor to their Seven future in The Boys season 3 and beyond. Maybe fans familiar with The Boys: Diabolical will pick up on Easter eggs or subtle character references other season 3 viewers won't but, even so, these details aren't likely to prove pivotal for Amazon's live-action narrative.
The Boys: Diabolical may not be essential viewing to understand what comes next for Butcher, Hughie, Homelander, Starlight, etc, but that doesn't mean The Boys fans won't get a kick out of the animated action. The spinoff elaborates upon established canon in ways the main show doesn't have room for, and pays off storylines that weren't fully developed in The Boys seasons 1 and 2. The Boys: Diabolical is perhaps best described as a bite-size companion piece to the main story, which fans can either dip into and increase their understanding of Vought's world, or skip and forge straight ahead with The Boys season 3 without fear of missing vital plot points.