Prime Video's superhero satire The Boys knows exactly how to shock and surprise its audience, which it did without a second thought when it returned for season 3 last week. Over the course of the first three episodes, showrunner Eric Kripke (best known for getting the world hooked on Supernatural) took fans on a rollercoaster ride of emotions with the exploits of Vought and the Seven,
Coming right out of the gate with parody of Zack Snyder's Justice League, which involved a reshoot of the universe's latest superhero film in order to reflect the good-girl-gone-Nazi Stormfront, The Boys season 3 has only gotten more outrageous in its first few episodes. The Deep (Chace Crawford) was forced to eat his octopus friend-with-benefits thanks to a power hungry Homelander (Antony Starr), while outlaw Butcher (Karl Urban) has started turning to dangerous methods to stop the supes.
Screen Rant spoke to Kripke about fabulous cameo from Charlize Theron in Dawn of the Seven and the importance of Kimiko's (Karen Fukuhara) storyline in The Boys season 3.
Screen Rant: Can we talk about Dawn of the Seven? What an amazing mirroring; it really felt like we're actually in The Boys universe, a slightly adjusted version of our world. What was it like putting that together and getting Charlize Theron onboard?
Eric Kripke: Some of my favorite stuff doing The Boys is the in-world stuff. It's so funny to me, and I love how on social it even takes on a life of its own.
It's doing this incredible thing that I've never seen before, which is people are commenting on the Dawn of the Seven trailer in-world. They're talking as if, "Oh my God, I hope Translucent's in it," and "Homelander is the best!" It's such an interesting online virtual cosplay that's starting to happen that I love, because I love meta. So, we felt like we had to show Dawn of the Seven, because we spent so much time last season making it. It seemed right that Vought would reshoot it to make Stormfront the villain.
But then in terms of Charlize, like many of the cameos in our show, she got in through the rigorous process of whoever returned Seth Rogen's calls. She did, and I'm so grateful, because it's so amazing. But I feel she probably was like, "Yeah, I'll do a favor. It's like a pop-in cameo, right? Okay, cool." And then the next call is from wardrobe, who needs to fit her for her super suit. And then she has to show up on a full day of production with all of these cameras. I think maybe it was more than she bargained for.
She was the champ of champs. I don't know if you've heard, but she's a pretty good actress. The commitment she gives to those stupid, ridiculous lines. I was talking to her that morning, and I was like, "It's the most serious thing in the world." And she so delivers with such heart that I hope Seth bought or something very nice, because she did a lot for us.
Frenchie and Kimiko this season have me in love, laughing and crying. What was it like telling Kimiko's journey more than ever before?
Eric Kripke: Yeah, it's one of my favorite storylines. You're really watching her blossom as a personality and really starting to express her own agency. For so much of Kimiko's life, she was doing what other people wanted. It was really important to me that, even though she might not be speaking literally, she really has a voice and she really has a point of view and a perspective.
It's a blast to do it. And Karen deserves more credit than I think she gets, because she is doing one of the great highwire acts on TV right now. I defy you to pick a moment where you don't completely understand where Kimiko's head is at; what she's thinking and how she's feeling. And she's doing it without saying a damn word. That is so hard, and Karen does it so effortlessly that it's just truly an astounding thing to watch.
The Boys Season 3 Synopsis
It’s been a year of calm. Homelander’s subdued. Butcher works for the government, supervised by Hughie of all people. But both men itch to turn this peace and quiet into blood and bone. So when The Boys learn of a mysterious Anti-Supe weapon, it sends them crashing into the Seven, starting a war, and chasing the legend of the first Superhero: Soldier Boy.
Check out our other interview with The Boys stars Karl Urban, Karen Fukuhara & Jack Quaid, Antony Starr & Erin Moriarty, and Chace Crawford, Jensen Ackles & Claudia Doumit.
More: The Boys Season 3’s Jensen Ackles Scenes Have Supernatural Easter Eggs
The first three episodes of The Boys season 3 are currently available to stream on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping every Friday.