The Boys showrunner teases that season 4 has the "scariest" episode yet which "you'll never be able to get out of your eyeballs"

The Boys are back with a brand new fourth season, one that creator Eric Kripke says includes episodes that are much bloodier and more brutal than we have ever seen before in the show. "There is certain imagery, for sure, this season, that you’ll never be able to get out of your eyeballs," Kripke tells SFX magazine in the new issue, which features The Boys season 4 on the cover.

Since season 3 of the Amazon Prime Video show was nothing short of blood and violence, including a man exploding from his groin area and a Supe being dragged face down at supersonic speed until he looked like an empty shell, it is hard to imagine what could top this. But the creator says that trying to best past seasons is never in the team’s interest, "We have never had the conversation in the writers’ room of like, ‘Okay, how do we top last season?'"

In fact, it seems like character development is taking center stage in the fourth installment and Kripke continues: "We ask, ‘What is the next layer down of their psychology and their trauma and their problems?’ That gets harder every season. We’re digging pretty deep into these people, and you have to really be disciplined about digging even deeper."

But when you’re dealing with the super-abled and dare we say psychotic characters such as Antony Starr’s Homelander, violent scenes are inevitable. By the sounds of it, the Supe’s emotional state will be responsible for the craziest episode in the whole season. 

"He’s a dense psychological snake’s nest of neediness and vulnerability and self-hatred, and he’s going to deal with that in some pretty gnarly ways. There’s an episode this season where it could be the scariest we’ve ever seen," reveals Kripke. "I called Antony after looking at the dailies, and I’m like, ‘Wow, man, that is some next-level scary shit.’ And not just by being violent, but just how un-fucking-hinged he is. It’s a delight."

Continuing from The Boys season 3 and the events of the Gen V finale, season 4 focuses on Victoria Neuman’s journey to the Oval Office, whilst trying to keep an unpredictable Homelander at bay. As for the Boys themselves, Butcher is grappling with his looming death whilst the team is still trying to find ways to control Supes and save the world before it’s too late.

Not a subscriber to SFX? Then head on over here to get the latest issues sent directly to your home/device!

The Boys season 4 releases on Amazon Prime Video on June 13. The above is just a snippet from our interview, available in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features The Boys season 4 on the cover and is available from Wednesday, June 12. Check out what you should be looking out for on newsstands below...

For even more from SFX, sign up to our newsletter, which delivers all the latest exclusives straight to your inbox.