Prime Video's live-action adaptation of The Boys has brought the comics to life brilliantly, and while the franchise's parent show has been absolutely brilliant so far, Gen V has been a little less consistent. There is a reason why the spinoff has struggled to live up to the quality of The Boys, but the upcoming prequel starring Jensen Ackles shouldn't suffer the same issues.
Vought Rising currently has no release date, but should arrive at some point in the next couple of years. The show recalls Ackles to the role of Soldier Boy, showcasing an earlier era in the timeline of not only the dark Captain America spoof, but also of Vought International in general. I'm really excited to see what the show has in store, and I'm pretty sure it'll soon be the property to carry The Boys franchise forward — while also being an improvement on Gen V.
Vought Rising should be more accurate to The Boys' source material than Gen V
The Boys is adapted from a comic book series of the same name by Garth Ennis. While the show has made some notable changes to certain characters and storylines, the Amazon project has always kept one eye on the source material and only made alterations and additions that feel authentic to the superhero saga's new medium. Gen V, on the other hand, takes almost nothing from the comics.
As such, Gen V has far more freedom than The Boys, as it routinely introduces heroes, villains, and storylines that are completely original to the spinoff show. On paper, this makes it seem like Gen V has an advantage over its parent show, but the opposite has largely turned out to be true. The quality of the source material is a major factor of The Boys turning out so well, whereas Gen V is essentially flying blind.
Gen V does a great job of fleshing out the franchise's live-action universe by adding fresh lore and perspectives to the larger story. However, it has also suffered as a result of this freedom. The show is riddled with moments that feel underdeveloped or not carefully considered. Most of its concepts are debuting on the small screen, so the lack of a comic book background means they don't always gel all that perfectly with The Boys.
Thankfully, Vought Rising will be able to draw on comic book lore, so the return of Soldier Boy should be more consistent than Gen V has generally been. While there isn't much information available when it comes to Vought Rising, what has been released softly confirms that many elements of the source material will be cornerstones of the show.
Vought Rising won't be completely immune to the risks taken by Gen V
While Vought Rising will be drawing on the source material, the fact of the matter is that it's largely an original addition to the comic book universe. The 1950s do feature as part of The Boys' original storyline in the comics, but the period is primarily shown via flashbacks, and only when necessary to inform the present-day plot. So, Vought Rising will need to fill in the gaps to tell a complete story.
As such, the process of making the show will be a kind of hybrid approach of how The Boys was adapted and how Gen V was essentially built from the ground up. For instance, the character of Soldier Boy himself is already very different in the live-action adaptation when compared with the comics, so the rest of Vought Rising will need to transform around Ackles' character. Therefore, it'll be impossible for The Boys prequel to be truly faithful to the source material.