A hinted story beat in Gen V season 2’s trailer seems to suggest that The Boys has a new Billy Butcher replacement ahead of the show’s final installment. Towards the end of The Boys season 4, Billy Butcher reached the end of his wits and took some extreme measures to ensure that things went his way.
His actions in The Boys season 4’s ending arc suggested that he would no longer team up with Hughie and the crew and go his own way to fulfill his mission against Homelander and all other supes. Since Billy Butcher is seemingly adopting a completely different role moving forward, The Boys will have to find a way to fill his absence in the titular team.
Interestingly, Gen V season 2’s trailer hints that the television franchise has already found his worthy replacement. While only time will tell how Gen V and The Boys‘ upcoming installments will unfold, this new development raises many questions about the main characters and Butcher’s future in the series.
Gen V Season 2’s Trailer Hints Starlight Is Billy Butcher’s Replacement In The Boys
As hateable as Billy Butcher may seem after The Boys season 4’s events, he is the reason why the show’s titular team exists. In the show’s opening arc, he went around recruiting the right people to join his crusade against Vought and the supes. If it wasn’t for him, Hughie, too, would not have thought about seeking revenge from A-Train for killing his former partner.
The Boys season 4’s ending, however, suggests that Butcher is no longer associated with the titular team. He is strong enough to etch his own path and fulfill his evil desire to wipe out every supe from the planet. Interestingly, as Gen V season 2’s trailer suggests, Starlight will seemingly take his role and recruit new members to the team.
The trailer hints that she and the crew will realize how they will need more powerful supes on their side to be able to stand a chance against Homelander and his growing team of supe-supremacists. Therefore, Starlight takes Butcher’s role on the team and cleverly recruits Homelander’s biggest potential rival, Marie.
What Starlight’s New Role Means For Butcher In The Boys Season 5
Starlight’s new role in Gen V season 2 suggests that Billy Butcher will likely stay far away from the titular team in the franchise’s upcoming installments. After The Boys season 4’s ending, he will seemingly embrace the dark side instead of reasoning with his morality and trying to save Ryan.
Ryan was the last straw that held him back from completely giving in to his hatred for supes. Butcher had a tether to his humanity as long as he believed Ryan would help him defeat Homelander. To his dismay, Ryan chose to side with his father, forcing Butcher to resort to extreme measures.
While Gen V season 1 took place shortly before The Boys season 4’s events, Gen V season 2 will unfold between the parent show’s seasons 4 and 5.
Since Butcher got his hands on the supe-killing virus in The Boys season 4’s ending moments, he will likely try to find a way to use it to wipe out every supe on the planet before his own doom comes knocking at his door. Meanwhile, Starlight and the crew will race against time in Gen V season 2 to find a more ethical and controlled method to stop Homelander instead of sacrificing innocent lives.
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Gen V
8/10
- Release Date
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September 28, 2023
- Network
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Prime Video
- Directors
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Nelson Cragg, Clare Kilner, Philip Sgriccia, Sanaa Hamri, Shana Stein, Steve Boyum
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Lizze Broadway
Emma Meyer / Little Cricket
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The Boys
7/10
- Release Date
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July 25, 2019
- Showrunner
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Eric Kripke
