The Boys Trailer Brings Blood, Guts, and Sex to the Superhero Genre

With Preacher ending its run after its upcoming fourth and final season, fans looking to get their Garth Ennis fix will find plenty of the author’s signature sex, violence, and irreverence in Amazon’s The Boys. The series released a new trailer, which gives us an NSFW glimpse at the world of The Boys.

Based on the comic book series by Garth Ennis (Preacher) and Darick Robertson (HAPPY!), The Boys takes place in world where a team of superheroes, known as The Seven, are international celebrities. The team are managed by Vought, a massive company run by Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue), the Senior VP of Hero Management. But despite their superhero status, The Seven are arrogant and corrupt, often abusing their powers.

The only thing keeping them in line are The Boys, a group of ragtag mortals that form a CIA Black Ops team. The Boys are lead by tough ex-soldier Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), who is joined by newcomer Hughie (Jack Quaid), the good-hearted Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), ballistics expert Frenchie (Tomer Capon), and silent The Female (Karen Fukuhara, who will hopefully get more to do here than in Suicide Squad). Simon Pegg guest stars as Hughie’s father.

Look, I know the show is called The Boys, but the addition of one lady only known as The Female who is almost entirely silent is kind of … a bummer? I’m hoping the show will deviate from her comic book origins to allow her to be a more full-fledged character as opposed to a token.

The Seven, a Justice League knock-off, is led by Superman-esque Homelander (Antony Starr) who is joined by the innocent Supergirl-like Starlight (Erin Moriarty), the Wonder Woman-inspired Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), speedster A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), King of the Seas The Deep (Chace Crawford) and the super-strong Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell).

Tonally, the show should be similar to Preacher, given that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are producing both series. The show also features an A-list showrunner/writer/director in Eric Kripke (Supernatural, Timeless). With the Marvel Netflix partnership coming to a close, there’s still a market for R-rated superhero television. DC Universe is attempting to fill the gap, having better luck with the goofy Doom Patrol than the self-serious Titans.

The Boys could easily become television’s answer to the Deadpool franchise: a vulgar, ultra-violent satire of the superhero genre. After all, Amazon already has one irreverent superhero series with The Tick. The Boys could be an edgy companion piece to Amazon’s continuing slate of shows.

The Boys premieres July 26th on Amazon Prime.

What did you think of the trailer? Are you ready for The Boys or have you had enough hyper-violent superhero stories?

(via Deadline, image: screencap)

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