The Boys showrunner teases what to expect from Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character – and his dynamic with Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher

News
By , published

Exclusive: Eric Kripke hints at The Walking Dead star's role in The Boys season 4

Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan Smith in The Walking Dead: Dead City
(Image credit: Peter Kramer/AMC)

The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke has teased what to expect from Jeffrey Dean Morgan's mysterious new character, and his relationship with Karl Urban's potty-mouthed protagonist Billy Butcher.

"He's instrumental in helping Butcher and adds a new element that can really help Butcher accomplish his goals," tells SFX magazine in the new issue, which features the Prime Video show's fourth season on the cover. "People are really going to love it because watching those two work off each other, it's just like watching two heavyweight fighters, they're just both so good and interesting. The way they spar is fantastic."

Kripke previously worked with Morgan on Supernatural, which ran between 2005 and 2020. Morgan shared the screen with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, who was introduced as The Boys' Soldier Boy back in season 3, and played the duo's demon-hunting dad John.

"In season 4, the world is on the brink," the official synopsis reads. "Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca's son and his job as The Boys' leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it's too late."

Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, Cameron Crovetti are all reprising their roles alongside Urban.

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

Morgan isn't the only newbie joining The Boys' cast in the upcoming installment, either. Vought International is set to welcome two new recruits to The Seven, in Valorie Curry's Firecracker and Susan Heyward's Sister Sage. 

Unlike previous fresh "heroes" Soldier Boy and Stormfront, Firecracker and Sister Sage don't come from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comics, so it's anyone's guess as to what they'll get up to in the new batch of episodes. Given Butcher's disdain for spandex-sporting sorts, though, we can't see him sharing much screen time with those two...

The Boys season 4 releases on June 13. The above is just a snippet from our interview, available in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features the show's new chapter on the cover and is available from Wednesday, June 12. Check out what you should look for on newsstands below...

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

Amy West
Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.