See Jensen Ackles’ character Soldier Boy in The Boys season 3

The Boys came along at the right time. The Amazon series, based on the comic by Garth Ennis, is about a world where superheroes are often corrupt and violent, with the Superman-esque Homelander (Antony Starr) being the worst of the worst. With our own world flooded with superhero content, it was high time for some satire.

Also, the show is just well-written and acted, with an iconoclastic sense of anarchy that makes it exciting to watch. And it’s not done. The cast and crew are working on the third season right now, and we’re getting some interesting photos from the set, including this one of new character Soldier Boy.

In the same way that Homelander is a parody of Superman, Soldier Boy is a parody of Captain America, his rah-rah patriotism masking something much darker and more sinister. He’s played by Jensen Ackles. “[A]nyone expecting Jensen to show up and be a good guy… will be disappointed,” showrunner Eric Kripke has said.

Kripke, by the way, also created The CW drama Supernatural, where Ackles famously starred as Dean Winchester. In fact, there are lots of Supernatural alums involved in The Boys, most of them on the writing and producing side. Although Supernatural never got anywhere near this vulgar and violent. It must be a nice release.

Jensen Ackles’ character Soldier Boy attends the premiere of Dawn of the Seven

And if you’re wondering what Soldier Boy is doing in that picture, he’s attending the premiere of Dawn of the Seven, an in-universe movie that chronicles how the Seven — the world’s premiere superhero team — got together. They were pitching it during the first season, making it during the second, and it’ll premiere in the third.

Of course, the events of the movie are completely made up, an attempt by Vought International to sell the public its sanitized version of what the superheroes it employs are like behind the scenes. So basically it’s a parody of The Avengers movies, complete with fake posters:

We don’t know when The Boys season 3 will premiere. The pandemic surely messed with things, but hopefully we’ll be seeing it later this year.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels

h/t SuperHeroHype