Every Confirmed Character Returning to the ‘Boys’ Universe in ‘Vought Rising’ and Who’s Sitting This One Out

With ‘The Boys‘ now finished and Homelander finally dead, the Prime Video universe isn’t slowing down. Instead, it’s going retro. The long-awaited prequel series ‘Vought Rising’ is gearing up to take audiences back to a blood-soaked, fedora-wearing 1950s America, and the question on every fan’s lips is simple: who made the cut?

The answer, it turns out, is a fascinating mix of familiar faces and fresh blood. Some characters are locked in and confirmed, while others, no matter how beloved, simply have no business being in a story set seventy years before their time. Here is a definitive breakdown of who is heading to Cold W** era Vought and who is staying behind.

Soldier Boy and Stormfront Lead the ‘Vought Rising’ Cast

The biggest confirmed names are also the ones that make the most sense. Jensen Ackles and Aya Cash will headline and produce ‘Vought Rising’, reprising their characters Soldier Boy and Stormfront, respectively. This is the beating heart of the show, and their dynamic promises to be something altogether different from what fans saw in the mothership series.

Cash’s character will be known as Clara Vought in this era, and creator Eric Kripke has assured fans that the show will not soften her villainous nature, even as it explores new layers of her complicated relationship with Soldier Boy. Kripke told ScreenRant that Soldier Boy harbored genuine romantic feelings for Clara that audiences will understand far more deeply through ‘Vought Rising’.

Kripke described the show as being like “L.A. Confidential with superheroes,” calling it “irreverent and grimy and noir-ish and fun,” and adding that it’s “sort of about how America became America.” That framing makes the duo’s presence feel essential rather than nostalgic.

The New Supe Squad Confirmed for the Prequel

Beyond the two leads, Soldier Boy will be joined by a new crew that includes Bombsight, played by Mason Dye, Torpedo, played by Will Hochman, and Private Angel, played by Elizabeth Posey. These are the fresh faces of 1950s Vought, and they are already generating serious buzz.

Mason Dye joins the expanding franchise as Bombsight, while Will Hochman and Elizabeth Posey will portray Torpedo and Private Angel. Kripke teased to Entertainment Weekly that Soldier Boy was the only one who bought his way into the program as a rich kid, and that as a result, everyone hated him, including the other heroes of ‘Vought Rising’, who are all “pretty much rolling their eyes at this rich boy.”

Joining the ensemble are also KiKi Layne, Jorden Myrie, Nicolò Pasetti, Ricky Staffieri, and Brian J. Smith. The first trailer already showed Myrie’s character being injected with V1 and gaining superpowers, giving fans their first glimpse at the Compound V origin story in action.

Franchise Crossover: Thomas Godolkin Bridges the Universe

One of the more intriguing confirmed additions connects ‘Vought Rising’ directly to the broader franchise. 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 cancelled spinoff ‘Gen V’.

Kripke himself stated, “I think we’d be insane to not put Ethan Slater’s character in that show,” which is about as close to a confirmation as anything short of an official announcement. The inclusion makes logical sense given that Godolkin was instrumental in building the very institutions that would define the supe world for generations.

The recurring cast also now includes Cecily Strong, Mark Pellegrino, Eric Johnson, and Annie Shapero, with Pellegrino’s addition teasing yet another ‘Supernatural’ reunion in the franchise, given his iconic role in that series alongside Ackles. The 1950s setting is clearly being populated with a rich ensemble that goes well beyond the headline names.

Why Homelander, Butcher, and The Boys Can’t Return

Here is where things get simple but worth spelling out clearly. ‘Vought Rising’ is a twisted murder mystery set in the 1950s, about 70 years before the events of ‘The Boys’. That timeline makes it structurally impossible for the core cast of the mothership series to appear in any meaningful way.

Soldier Boy does not appear in the Season 5 finale of ‘The Boys’, leaving viewers to assume he is still in the cryochamber by the end of the series, though the prequel will obviously explore the decades before that stasis. Homelander, meanwhile, met his end in the finale at the hands of Butcher, removing any possibility of a crossover even in a framing device.

Hughie and Annie survived the finale with a baby on the way, while Kimiko and Mother’s Milk also made it through, but their stories are very much products of the modern era. Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher, Jack Quaid’s Hughie, Erin Moriarty’s Annie, Antony Starr’s Homelander, and the rest of the Seven are all absent from ‘Vought Rising’ for the most concrete reason possible: they simply had not been born yet.

What ‘Vought Rising’ Means for the Franchise’s Future

Prime Video released a first-look teaser trailer for the show, and Kripke noted it tested well in front of audiences who had never even seen ‘The Boys’, suggesting the prequel is designed to function as a standalone entry point for new viewers.

‘Vought Rising’ will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in 2027, with an exact date yet to be confirmed. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios, in association with Kripke Enterprises, Point Grey Pictures, and Original Film, with Paul Grellong serving as showrunner.

Set decades before Homelander and The Seven dominated the world of ‘The Boys’, ‘Vought Rising’ takes audiences back to when Vought International was still building its power behind closed doors, with political paranoia, corporate manipulation, and violent experimentation shaping the story.

The mythology being laid down here could reframe everything fans thought they understood about the franchise, and if you have thoughts on which confirmed character you are most excited to see step back into the shadows of 1950s Vought, the comments are waiting for you.