We're now just three weeks away from the season 4 premiere of The Boys, and Prime Video has shared a new still spotlighting the reshuffled members of the "superhero" team known as The Seven.
The updated roster (it's a running joke that there's never actually seven of them) consists of original members Homelander, The Deep, A-Train, and Black Noir (with a different character under the mask), along with two new recruits.
As you might expect, these ladies turn out to be every bit as unhinged/amoral as pretty much every other Supe that's been part of the team, but one, in particular, might be the most dangerous of all: The smartest person in the world, Sister Sage (Susan Heyward).
"It's such a funny power," showrunner Eric Kripke says of the scheming Supe in a recent interview with EW. "A lot of superhero worlds have that character. Whereas most of them are usually really reedy white dudes, we wanted a Black woman who was raised in a low socioeconomic area, so no one f---ing listens to her. It's both commentary and satirical that you have literally the smartest person in the world that could cure all of society's ills, but she just can't get anyone to listen to her. So then she becomes a bitter misanthrope."
We'll also be introduced to Firecracker (Valorie Curry), an alt-right extremist with a fairly ineffectual ability - but Sage believes she can harness the unwavering support of her fan-base.
"It turns out, there's always crazier," Kripke explains. "Firecracker represents both members of the conspiracy-minded movements and the super extreme right-wing news media. That character has some surprising backstory that connects her to some of the characters in our world that it was just interesting to bring in one of those pistol-packing 'I shot my puppies' type of characters."
Kripke also shared an update on the planned The Boys: Mexico spin-off starring Gael García Bernal, which will be written by Blue Beetle scribe Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.
"They are still making the deal with the writer for the pilot," the showrunner tells EW. "He has an amazing pitch, and we all giggle and think about how fun it would be. But there are a lot of hurdles for that show before it's a real show. He's got to write an amazing pilot, he's probably got to write an amazing episode 2. I think he can and he will, but we're a while away from truly starting to drop in the Easter eggs and the setups and stuff."
The Boys was recently renewed for a fifth season
"The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power," reads the official season 4 synopsis. "Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late."
Returning cast members include Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Cameron Crovetti, along with new recruits Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
The first three episodes of The Boys season 4 will be available to stream from June 13th, with new instalments dropping weekly through to the season finale on July 18.