The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke has dismissed claims that recent nods to the Vought Rising spinoff show in Season 5 were driven by “craven commercialism.” Fans of the Prime Video superhero series are divided about the direction of the story ahead of next week’s series finale. A key talking point surrounding recent episodes is how the show has handled side characters like Soldier Boy and Bombshell.
, Kripke explained that his team focused on giving characters from the main series a fitting sendoff when developing Season 5.
The Boys showrunner discussed his team’s process during the interview. Vought Rising is set to explore the origins of some of the show’s most evil characters, taking viewers back to the 1950s. According to Kripke, he was more concerned with providing a satisfying conclusion to the characters’ storylines than with promoting the spinoff.
Warning! Spoilers for The Boys Season 5 follow.
Kripke addressed the challenge of balancing The Boys with Vought Rising.
“How do you do enough that you can touch on it, but not so much that you feel like it’s homework or you feel like it’s just a commercial?”
He explained that the idea of incorporating Vought Rising elements into Season 5 came from the notion of the V-One McGuffin and the introduction of Soldier Boy as a character in the season.
“Why is he immortal? Why is Stormfront immortal? What is it about whatever they had, right? Once you come up with V-One… we didn’t start it like, ‘We gotta get Bombsight in there, guys! We gotta set up our thing!'”
in 2024 as a prequel series featuring Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy and Aya Cash’s Stormfront, characters who have appeared in previous seasons of The Boys. In August 2025, casting news was
for additional superheroes, including Mason Dye as Bombsight and Elizabeth Posey as Private Angel. Some fans were pleased to see Dye make his on-screen debut as Bombsight in The Boys Season 5, Episode 6. Others felt that Kripke and his team were trying too hard to promote Vought Rising.
Kripke clarified that bringing in Bombsight was a collaborative effort between The Boys team and Vought Rising showrunner Paul Grellong. When he learned about Grellong’s plans for Bombsight, they found a way to integrate both shows organically.
“So, when the question comes up in our room of like, ‘Who ultimately has the V-One? Is it just some rando old hero that you never will see again, or should it be one of those characters, because those characters are so bad ass?'”
he added.
“That’s how it kind of evolved. It was pretty organic. There wasn’t a lot of craven commercialism in there. It came from a spot of, it’s a full universe, and we have these pieces, so if we’re able to use them, why not?”
The Boys is currently in its fifth and final season, set to conclude with its finale next week, on May 20. Vought Rising is expected to premiere in the first half of 2027.
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