The Boys Season 5, Episode 3 Is A Backdoor Pilot For The Next Spin-Off Series

Contains spoilers for "The Boys" Season 5, Episode 3 – "Every One of You Sons of B***hes"

"The Boys" Season 5 has left all the critics stunned, with the hit Prime Video series going out with a bang for its final season. It's the end of an era, but the universe of "The Boys" is set to expand with a prequel series. "The Boys" Season 5 has plenty of references to existing spin-off "Gen V," and another tie-is series titled "Vought Rising" is on the way. It's going to be set during the 1950s and will follow the first batch of supes ever created, and "The Boys" Season 5, Episode 3 has laid the groundwork for it.

Despite Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) being exposed to the supe-killing virus, he still manages to live. We learn that it's because he was exposed to V1, the first iteration of Compound V. That means Soldier Boy is immune to the virus while all modern supes, including Homelander (Antony Starr), are still susceptible. Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) gives us a breakdown of the main players who first got V1: Soldier Boy, Bombsight (Mason Dye), Torpedo (Will Hochman), Private Angel (Elizabeth Posey), and Stormfront (Aya Cash). Those parts have already been cast for "Vought Rising," and we'll get a taste of Bombsight before then since Dye has been confirmed to appear in "The Boys" Season 5.

It's specifically mentioned how those five survived getting injected with V1, so there's a good chance we'll witness some pretty horrific trials happening in "Vought Rising." For the time being, the focus is still squarely on the task at hand, namely the Boys trying to kill Homelander. But the show's setting things up so that "Vought Rising" can hit the ground running, which is great news for those who are going to miss the mothership series.

In April 2026, "The Boys" and "Vought Rising" creator Eric Kripke spoke to Entertainment Weekly about what fans can expect from the upcoming prequel series. "I would define it as 'L.A. Confidential' with superheroes. Maybe grimier. Probably, definitely grimier," he said. "It's a murder-mystery, and it's got that noir-ish — not Black Noir, but actual noir — movin' through the streets and femme fatales and detectives." The murder mystery component is fascinating considering the show will be dealing with effectively immortal superheroes. Will one of them be killed in mysterious circumstances, leading to an investigation? Or will the victim be a mere mortal?

Jensen Ackles may be a supporting player on "The Boys" as Soldier Boy, a man out of time, but "Vought Rising" will see him in his element. Collider interviewed Ackles about the prequel, and he revealed that he jumped at the chance of reprising the role. He said: "When they pitched it, they were like, 'Hey, we're thinking about doing this prequel thing, going back to the 1950s with Soldier Boy.' I don't think I let them finish the sentence before I was like, 'Yes!' But I know that the intent is to have it be a multi-season show." Another familiar face set to appear in the prequel series is Ethan Slater as Thomas Godolkin, who was revealed as the big bad of "Gen V" Season 2.

"Vought Rising" finished filming in March 2026, but Kripke has teased that, due to the heavy VFX work involved, the show probably won't come out until the early part of 2027.  Until then, we'll have to keep an eye on "The Boys" Season 5 for more references. Episode 3 gave us some clues about "Vought Rising," and since the titular team is on a quest to locate any remaining V1, we could very well get more before the show ends for good. Check out Looper's review of "The Boys" Season 5.