Butcher's Gen V Cameo Matters More Than You Realize, According To Creator

Summary

• The climax of Gen V came when Homelander and Billy Butcher appeared on screen one after the other.
• If Homelander's cameo clearly changed the course of the spinoff, Butcher's appearance felt more like fan service.
• But in fact, it was one of the most important moments that teased the plot of The Boys Season 4, according to creator Erik Kripke.
• In the upcoming episodes, the Boys will embark on a journey to find the Supe virus created in Gen V's The Woods.

Gen V Season 1 ended on a shocking note and delivered some of the best moments of the series and probably the whole Boys-verse. Of course, The Boys spinoff takes after its parent show in its hilarious depiction of gore and violence, but that's not all that connects the two series.

Throughout Gen V, we saw characters from the original pop up here and there. And it's those cameos that, according to creator Eric Kripke, can help us predict the major plot points of The Boys Season 4, which is set to premiere in 2024.

Eric Kripke singles out Butcher's cameo

Gen V's cameos reached their peak when the finale featured first Homelander and then Billy Butcher. The archenemies didn't meet onscreen, and at first glance, Butcher's brief appearance in the mid-credits scene might have seemed like fan service.

But in fact, it is anything but. In the recent interview with Men's Health, Kripke discussed how the premiere season of Gen V builds into the fourth chapter of The Boys. And the showrunner emphasized that while Homelander's cameo was important to the development of Gen V, Butcher's appearance set up the new story in The Boys.

'The Homelander stuff felt, to us, like a culmination of this season of Gen V, and I would say the Butcher cameo is more than anything else what sets up Season 4.' Kripke said.

The creator explained that the moment Butcher arrives in the Woods is a kind of 'ground zero' for the Boys as they embark on a mission to find the virus that can kill Supes. And since the virus is in the hands of Victoria Neuman, she and the upcoming presidential election in which she is participating will also be the focus of the new episodes.

Does this mean that we have to watch Gen V before The Boys Season 4?

Eric Kripke says no. The spinoff was designed to deepen the lore of the Boys-verse, but it exists separately and doesn't need to become the obligatory homework for fans.

'It would be helpful to see Gen V to understand Season 4, and provide a little more context and a little more depth,' Kripke said. 'But it's by no means necessary. If you just want to watch The Boys without watching Gen V, that's great, if you want to watch Gen V without watching The Boys, that's great too.'

Well, that certainly sounds like a liberating thought in an age where superhero franchises are becoming more and more complicated and intertwined.

Source: Men's Health.