The Boys is back with its long-awaited third season, and it introduced a Supe who could be the key to killing Homelander. Soldier Boy is played by Jensen Ackles and only appeared via flashback so far, but it’s safe to say that fans are in for more of both the character and the actor as the season continues. Ackles is of course best known for spending 15 seasons on The CW as co-lead of Supernatural, and The Boys reunited him with Eric Kripke, who created Supernatural all those years ago. Now the showrunner of The Boys, Kripke opened up to CinemaBlend to sing Ackles’ praises… but not without a shout out to Ackles’ Supernatural co-star Jared Padalecki.
Eric Kripke and Jensen Ackles have a long history, as he created Supernatural and served as showrunner for the first five seasons that told arguably the show’s biggest and most cohesive arc. Kripke spoke with CinemaBlend’s Law Sharma for Season 3 of The Boys and weighed in on why Ackles was the perfect actor to play Soldier Boy:
Obviously I've worked with Jensen for a minute and he's really good at everything I throw at him. As a versatility player, you know, comedy, drama, make you cry, make you laugh, be a credible action star, be scary. Like I've – obviously over the years of Supernatural – put him through every possible permutation of what a character can do. And he can do all of it. I mean, Jared can too, they both can, but Jared is building his television empire. So I needed Soldier Boy to have a lot of those different qualities, you know, and it's not always easy to find an actor who can be charming at times, funny at times, emotional at times, and then a really scary asshole at times, and have it all be part of the same package. I just knew he could pull that off and I just was excited for the world to see a totally different side of what Jensen can do.
Eric Kripke certainly isn’t kidding about Supernatural putting Jensen Ackles through “every possible permutation” of what an actor can do, as Dean Winchester went on a wild emotional, mental, and physical ride over the 15 seasons alongside Jared Padalecki’s Sam Winchester. Padalecki’s “television empire” refers to his starring and executive producing role on Walker, which premiered in the CW season directly after Supernatural ended. (Walker also has a spinoff on the way.)
The showrunner didn’t reveal whether or not there are hopes for Padalecki to someday join The Boys, but the unconventional superhero show has already featured a number of Supernatural actors, notably including Jim Beaver. Kripke has said that he was hoping Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played John Winchester on the CW series during Kripke’s seasons, would be available for a role, although timing with Morgan’s Walking Dead spinoff has made it impossible so far.
For all that Jensen Ackles showed off his versatility on Supernatural, the first few episodes of The Boys Season 3 (which you can check out with an Amazon Prime subscription) served as a reminder of just what the Amazon Prime show can do that wasn’t possible on network television.
Even though Ackles’ Soldier Boy wasn’t part of the premiere that involved the massive penis prop – which is definitely something that wouldn’t have happened on screen on The CW – his first episode of flashbacks proved that fans are in for a wild time and a different side of the actor who played the same role for the better part of two decades. (He’ll also reprise his role as Dean as narrator for the upcoming Winchesters spinoff.)
Don’t miss more of Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy in new episodes of The Boys Season 3, releasing on Fridays on Amazon Prime. For some more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
