With The Boys Season 2 locked in for its three-episode debut on Amazon on September 4, it has been extremely easy to get pumped for more envelope-pushing chaos without fully considering just how little has been revealed about the upcoming season. Especially when it comes to casting updates beyond You're the Worst vet Aya Cash as The Seven's newest member, Stormfront. Finally, the action-packed and morally vacant series has announced another new addition in the form of O.G. X-Men film franchise star Shawn Ashmore, and he'll be playing the opposite of his icy mutant.
Upon joining The Boys' universe, Shawn Ashmore has fully traded in his Iceman talents to take on the flame-ready and "crucial" role of the super-powered being dubbed Lamplighter. For those who aren't familiar with the Boys comic book arcs as crafted by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, I won't go into any spoilery details about what the TV show's fans can expect to see from Lamplighter. But the official announcement did offer up some big details regardless.
Before that, though, feast your eyes on this very first look at Shawn Ashmore as Lamplighter!
Now for the TV set-up: Lamplighter is a former member of The Seven, and was quite the superstar before making his mysterious absence ahead of Starlight joining the group. His past also came to a tragic crossroads with The Boys, as he was a catalyst in the anti-supe group breaking up all those years before. To be expected, when Lamplighter returns to The Boys' lives, he unlocks a lot of emotional baggage for all involved and changes up that dynamic. No telling if that story will be completely encompassed in Season 2, or if we might see Shawn Ashmore returning in the already confirmed Season 3.
Here's what The Boys creator Eric Kripke had to say about the Shawn Ashmore's casting for such a "crucial" character:
We were thrilled that Shawn — who is, let’s be honest, an OG superhero — wanted to play the crucial part of Lamplighter. He brings so much depth, menace, and world weary humanity to this former member of the Seven. And Shawn is a really good guy. We’re grateful to have him join our bloody little family.
Shawn Ashmore portrayed Bobby Drake, a.k.a. Iceman, in four different X-Men films, including the original trilogy and X-Men: Days of Future Past (now streaming on Disney+). He's been more prolific on the big screen, but he definitely has some recognizable TV roles across his career, from starring in The Following to co-starring with Hayley Atwell in Conviction to his recurring role on ABC's The Rookie. Of course, nothing that Ashmore has appeared in is quite like The Boys, so I can't wait to see how he fits in with the hyper-extreme action.
Having dropped an even more insane second trailer recently, The Boys Season 2 will debut on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, September 4, with the first three episodes dropping all at once, with the remaining episodes releasing weekly. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for exclusive coverage for the premiere and more, and keep current with everything else hitting the small screen soon via our Fall 2020 TV premiere schedule.
