The Boys Needs An Avengers: Endgame Finale In Theaters Or It's Doomed
"The Boys" showrunner Eric Kripke has made it clear that the show won't go down without a fight.
With Season 4 just around the corner, and the creator now aiming beyond five seasons, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and his team will throw fists and four-letter words for as long as they can. There's a fine line between "long enough" and "too long," though. When it comes to "The Boys," getting out while the getting is good might be the better approach, so long as they go out with a bang.
How "The Boys" ends will determine its permanent legacy in pop culture — just ask "Game of Thrones" — and if the series follows the overarching narrative of the comics, its eventual final season will have some pacing issues to deal with.
Now, obviously Kripke knows what he's doing. With every season, "The Boys" has gone from strength to super strength, even earning Emmy nominations and playing other comic book storytelling studios at their own game. As the series reaches its thrilling climax from the comics, though, the fact that Homelander (Antony Starr) has become a household name will work to its disadvantage ... unless, that is, they shift this final run from the small screen to the big one. Because there's a very specific element in the ending of "The Boys" that will work better in a theatrical release than spread over a season — and besides, this world of corrupt crimefighters deserves to go out with a big-budgeted bang.
The Boys' final chapter is too big for the small screen
Warning: Spoilers for "The Boys" comics conclusion ahead
To argue the case as to why "The Boys" needs a big cinematic blowout means that, unfortunately, we'll have to head into spoiler territory that comic book fans are already anticipating after the ending of "The Boys" Season 3. So if you want the ending to be a surprise, don't read further.
Ready? Here's the deal. Since the beginning of "The Boys," Butcher has broken promises and tested friendships to get his hands on Homelander, losing more of himself in the process. You know what a different superhero franchise once said about how you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain, yeah? Well, that's what happens. Butcher finally achieves his goal of killing Homelander, then he switches to self-destruct mode, heading on a solo mission to destroy all supers — leaving his teammates as the only thing that can stop him. Lives are lost, alliances are broken, and only one member of The Boys is left standing in a heartbreaking battle to the end.
With this journey in mind, handling the final chapter of "The Boys" demands immense care. No one wants to see it stumble on the last lap, whenever that may be. And as exciting as this conclusion would be, there's a key issue that, in a faithful adaption, could dent viewer reception for the final stretch — Homelander, the biggest draw to the show, would have to die halfway through the season.
The Boys only has two ways out on TV - and neither are good
As much as "The Boys" has done a brilliant job of both faithfully adapting and deviating from the source material, the deaths of Homelander and Butcher are essential. One can't fall without the other, and the time that must exist between the two separate exits can't be rushed.
So, the first option for the series would be to have Homelander hit the tarmac halfway through the final season, leaving Billy to fester and make his last move as a lethal lost cause for its remainder. The other option: fans could get a shock by taking down the star-spangled psychopath in the penultimate season, leaving the last lap for Billy to turn well and truly rotten. Either one of these choices will leave a long stretch of time where the Boys are left without their primary target, who has cast a terrifying shadow over the show since the beginning.
So, here's the third choice: do what the creatives behind both "Game of Thrones" and "The Walking Dead" once promised, but never delivered on. Give this epic conclusion the epic conclusion it deserves, by having Butcher's rampage take off after the season ends, in a big screen conclusion.
Homelander is and has always been the Starr of the show
Antony Starr has terrified us for three incredible seasons, yet he has continued to be the biggest draw to a show that has turned the superhero genre on its head and crushed it into mulch. A hero for the cameras and a horror for everyone else, Homelander is a scene-stealing monster. And "The Boys" will falter if it goes either a half-season or full season without him.
To take Starr out of the game would have the same impact as Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) giving in his notice with "The Office" and taking away what audiences kept coming back for. Instead, if audiences know the finale will be a theatrical release, the studio can promote it as the grand final battle between Homelander and Billy Butcher. Once audiences are in, seated, and invested, that's when you pull the rug out and have Homelander die at the halfway mark of the film, while the rest of the film charts Butcher's fall from grace.
This would be a bold move, undoubtedly, but "The Boys" could do it brilliantly.
With a final film, The Boys can play Marvel at their own game
After "Avengers: Endgame," Marvel Studios made the bold move to expand their world to television. It's no secret, though, that following this, the MCU's flawless success streak has hit a few snags trying to balance both formats.
"The Boys" wouldn't have this issue if it went out with one filmic farewell. Whereas Marvel could've called it a day with "Avengers: Endgame" but kept going until its TV division ran into problems, Kripke's uncouth comic book world (and the rivalry at the center) of it would fully come to a close in cinemas.
It's not like Amazon doesn't have the budget, either. After chucking a mine's worth of treasure at "The Rings of Power," throwing a hefty sum at "The Boys" for a big screen outing is very reasonable. The rewards this move could make could be massive, with the streaming service being one of the first to take their television property to the big screen and have an enormous fan base follow them there. This show, in all its gore, gall, and unapologetic jabs at politics and pop culture, deserves to blow the bloody doors off with its finale in the best way possible, and this is the best way to do it.