It felt a little like San Diego Comic Con at SXSW on Saturday morning, when The Boys panel took the stage. It wasn’t as large as Hall H, but Ballroom D is plenty big and it was crowded with fans eagerly anticipating seeing the trailer for Season 3 and hearing from Eric Kripke and the cast. And they did not disappoint – they showed the trailer on the big screens and there were audible gasps from the audience (link at end of article fyi)
For days, the fandom has been guessing that Imagine Dragons has joined The Boys family thanks to some twitter bantering, and the trailer confirmed that – perfect song for an amazing sequence of glimpses of what’s to come. From the unlikely musical sequence to Homelander’s disturbing fascination with milking a cow to the requisite blood and gore and humor mixed in, the trailer leaves little doubt that the new season is going to up the ante even over the last. Butcher’s laser eyes and Soldier Boy’s smirk are indelible images that make June 3 damn hard to wait for. And that last glimpse of an unkempt Soldier Boy breaking his bonds, just that look on his face….omg, bring it!
For Supernatural fans like me, having Eric Kripke and Jensen Ackles working together again is a dream come true. There was even a little Supernatural Easter egg in the trailer, with a ‘We’ve got work to do’ from-the-trunk closing shot that I loved. I am a die hard Supernatural fan forever, but I fell in love with The Boys from the pilot episode and just keep being more and more fascinated and entertained by it.
The panel was moderated by Christian Slater, fittingly enough ‘the narrator’ in the animated series The Boys Presents: Diabolical. Eric Kripke was joined by Karl Urban, Laz Alonso, Karen Fukuhara, Chace Crawford, Jessie T. Usher and Jensen Ackles.
Ackles, the “new kid” on the show who joins in Season 3 as Soldier Boy, said he was nervous about joining a show that he already was a fan of, and that he “geeked out” over his talented castmates.
Jensen: it was a thrilling ride to be on and I can’t wait for you guys to see it!
He definitely got maybe even more than he bargained for, which makes June 3 even harder to wait for. Going from a show on the CW to one on a streaming service like Prime Video changes what you’re allowed to do substantially (and removes the weirdness of two seasoned hunters like Sam and Dean having the most PG13 language ever)
Jensen: I thought we’re gonna level up here, gloves are coming off, it’s gonna be all the things I couldn’t do with standards and practices. And then I read the script and I’m like, I can’t do that!