This interview contains spoilers for The Boys.
All good things must come to an end, but The Boys’ Antony Starr isn’t ready to pay his farewells to the superhero parody just yet. In our recent interview, Starr and I discussed everything from his strangest scene ever as Homelander to how the character is handling the fact that he’s little more than a pawn in The Boys Season 4. But I couldn’t wrap up the discussion without getting his feelings on the recent announcement that Season 5 would be their last.
“Oh, I can’t think of that yet,” Starr says with a chuckle. “I can’t go there yet because, first of all, we’ve got a long way to go, and I want to make the most of it and enjoy it. I’m enjoying what’s happening with the show at the moment.”
For Starr, it’s not just about the series being fun. This cast consistently has a blast together (while often filming the ridiculous and obscene), but making a television show requires a small army of people all busting their asses for the same goal. “We worked so hard on Season 4 across the board, everyone from the caterers to everyone that works in the production office to the actors, to cast, the producers, directors…” Starr acknowledges. “Everyone’s put so much into it, so it’s great to have this very warped creature of a season come out and be released on the world.”
If I stop to think about it, it’ll be really sad
Still, while Starr may not be ready to say his goodbyes, it’s hard not to reflect when you know the end is coming. The Boys as a series isn’t known for its sentimentality, but it’s impossible not to form bonds after working together for six years — especially when some of those years took place during COVID.
“If I stop to think about it, it’ll be really sad,” Starr admits. “It’s been such a long road with the show. We started before COVID, and we released Season 2 in COVID. We did all the press for that in seclusion and isolation in our homes, and then all of a sudden we came back. We shot in COVID. It’s been such a ride together with this group of people that it’ll be very sad. It’ll be a sad day to hang up the spandex.”
Shows that started in the Before Times™ and managed to survive the lockdown era are few and far between, to say the least. This cast and crew went through it together, knowing what it was like to be with each other on set, having it all put on pause, and then reuniting and trying to find a new normal like the rest of us. Going through that can’t make it any easier to say goodbye. But part of telling a good story is understanding where (and when) your ending should hit.
“I’m very conscious that I want us to go out on a really positive, strong note,” says Starr. “I don’t want us to be the show that pushed one season too far and fell flat. On behalf of everyone that works on the show, I think we deserve to go out with our heads up, not feeling like we should have gone earlier or we overstayed our welcome, so to speak. I think it’ll be about the right time, but also it’ll be a hard thing to leave.”
Of course, there’s always the possibility for more spinoffs. Gen V Season 1 was a resounding success, and there are plenty of other stories to expand on. Then again, Homelander’s end in the comics might mean Starr says goodbye to the franchise in Season 5 of The Boys no matter what.
Either way, we’ve still got at least one more awkward breast milk scene before it’s all said and done!
Amelia is the entertainment Streaming Editor here at IGN. She’s also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved. Follow her across social @ThatWitchMia