Vought Rising Trailer, Release Date, Story, and Characters Explained

Following the conclusion of its popular mothership show, the world of The Boys is going back in time to the 1950s with a new prequel series called Vought Rising. Jensen Ackles will reprise the role of Soldier Boy in the upcoming Prime Video project, which will explore the charismatic Supe’s adventures long before Butcher and co. encountered him.

We’ve got everything you need to know about Vought Rising right here, minus the finer details of what Clara would have wanted, so let’s get you prepped on what to expect when the show debuts next year.

Vought Rising Story: Why Soldier Boy Is Who He Is

Revolution’s Paul Grellong serves as the showrunner for Vought Rising, which The Boys creator Eric Kripke describes as a murder-mystery. Set years after Soldier Boy’s time at the Fort Harmony WWII base, where Frederick Vought, the founder of Vought International, worked and conducted V1 serum experiments, Vought Rising will explore the origins of his powerful company and also catch up with Soldier Boy as he grows closer to Vought’s wife, Clara, a.k.a. Liberty, a.k.a. Stormfront.

“It has this sort of lovely, almost noir-like murder mystery — not Black Noir but actual noir. There are detectives and twists, and there’s a murder that then opens up into a bigger conspiracy.” Kripke told THR about the show’s vibe.

Kripke also said that the creators are aiming for “a very gritty version” of the 50s, adding, “Most people’s feeling, or sense memory, of the 50s is from movies, which are very sanitized. Even L.A. Confidential, as much as I love it, is, visually, a pretty clean movie. We wanted dirty and grimy. There would be heroin dens, gay bars, and this underbelly of popular culture at the time.”

Ackles has also spoken about how the Soldier Boy we know today will differ from the one in Vought Rising, who still wants to be a real hero. He told EW that, “In The Boys, in modern times, [Soldier Boy is] a fish out of water. He’s an analog guy who’s trapped in a digital world. So now we see him in his element. We see what made him who he was.”

Though Kripke has declined to comment on whether the events of Vought Rising will set up the re-emergence of Soldier Boy in the present day, we would note that The Boys deliberately put the character on ice rather than killing him in the finale, leading many fans to suspect that Soldier Boy may be the future of The Boys, as well as its past.

Stan Edgar, who also brought Clara out of retirement as Stormfront in season 2, also lived to take over Vought International, so we could very well see these characters together again in the future.

Vought Rising Characters Explained: New and Old Faces

Soldier Boy will often go by his real name, Ben, in Vought Rising, and he’ll be joined by a new crew that includes Bombsight (Mason Dye), Torpedo (Will Hochman), and Private Angel (Elizabeth Posey).

We’ve already met Bombsight on The Boys and know that he’s despised Ben for a long time. It sounds like he won’t be alone in feeling that way. “Soldier Boy was the only one who bought his way into the program as a rich kid, I don’t think really understanding how dangerous it was at the time,” Kripke told EW. “So everyone hated him. Even when you meet the other heroes in Vought Rising, they’re all pretty much rolling their eyes at this rich boy.”

Little is known about the other two Supes, Torpedo and Private Angel, but the former sports a Golden Age-style aquatic-themed suit, and the latter has apparently grown wings. We’ll definitely learn much more about these early immortal V1 recipients in Vought Rising.

Following her apparent death in season 3 of The Boys, Aya Cash will also return as an earlier version of Clara Vought. She was the first successful recipient of V1, and is a fascist Supe with ties to the Nazis who often uses her powers to torture and kill minorities. Though the prequel series won’t ask viewers to sympathize with her this time around either, Ben will most likely find her rhetoric irresistible.

“In no way will I ever ask the audience to sympathize with Stormfront. She’s a Nazi, and she sucks,” Kripke assured ScreenRant. “Soldier Boy? I think, if [The Boys is] teasing anything, it’s teasing that he really had feelings for Clara more than he had originally let on, and that you’ll see a lot of that play out in Vought Rising.”

KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk) and Jorden Myrie (Sherwood) are also part of the show’s cast. We don’t know much about Layne’s character yet, but we have spotted Jorden Myrie getting injected with V1 and gaining superpowers in Vought Rising’s first trailer.

Additionally, Ethan Slater is tipped to return as Thomas Godolkin, Frederick Vought’s right-hand man and the mind-controlling founder of Godolkin University, who was originally introduced on The Boys’ cancelled spinoff, Gen V. “I think we’d be insane to not put Ethan Slater’s character in that show,” Kripke stated.

And for anyone hoping for some new Supernatural cameos in Vought Rising after so many popping up on The Boys, we can confirm that Lucifer himself, Mark Pellegrino, has also been added to the cast! His role has yet to be revealed, but he probably won’t be playing Satan. Though in the world of The Boys, who knows! He could be someone much, much worse.

Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live), Eric Johnson (Fifty Shades), and Annie Shapero (House of the Dragon) have also been cast in recurring roles.

Vought Rising Trailer: A Brighter Future

Amazon released a first look at Vought Rising after the finale of The Boys dropped, and you can see it below. The trailer shows Soldier Boy donning his old-school mask and suit while giving us a glimpse of the show’s Supes in action. There’s also a traditional amount of blood and needle drops to keep fans happy!

Vought Rising Release Date

Vought Rising is now eyeing a 2027 release on Prime Video. When the streamer zeroes in on a more specific release date, we’ll let you know!