On July 26, Amazon Prime’s latest new series drops, and it’s one you won’t want to miss. Based on the long-running comic book series by Garth Ennis (Preacher), The Boys is set in a world where superheroes exist, but they tend to embrace the darker aspects of fame and celebrity. The eponymous “Boys” is the vigilante group that sets out to take down those corrupt superheroes. By any means necessary. But why would The Boys appeal to horror fans? As fans of Ennis’ work already know, this world is steeped in excessive bloodshed and hyper-violence that will make the gorehounds cheer in glee. And if you’ve seen the trailer, you know this is only the tip of the iceberg for the insanity ahead.
Developed by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Eric Kripke, The Boys stars Jack Quaid (Tragedy Girls) as “Wee” Hughie Campbell. Hughie begins the series as an everyday electronic store employee in love and in hero worship of the superheroes. Until a cataclysmic accident leaves him heartbroken and drenched in blood, and that’s just in the first five minutes. That event leads him to the discovery of the Boys, which in turn opens up his world wider to the gory work of superhero vigilantism. Meaning, it’s not the only time Wee Hughie will wind up covered in blood.
While vfx are normal for superhero filled series like this, The Boys doesn’t shy away from practical effects either. On what it’s like to be consistently doused in fake blood, Quaid shares, “Really sticky. And, I didn’t realize when fake blood sticks to clothes, that you just can’t move. Just hearing all the cracking that happens when you try to extend your elbow. So, I’ve gotten a real, deep dive into what it’s like to be covered in blood. And, I guess I’m the expert now.”
For Hughie’s guide into the darker nature of superheroes, Billy Butcher, there was no other person in mind to play the character for showrunner Eric Kripke other than Karl Urban. No stranger to grittier, action-packed roles, Urban fell hard for his character and this unique world. “I was not familiar with the comic books prior to taking on the role. My introduction was primarily reading Eric Kripke’s wonderful script. And, immediately being drawn, not only into the world, but really specifically into Billy Butcher. And from there, I went and checked out Garth Ennis’ graphic novel, which was wonderfully shocking and R-rated, and very, very visceral.”
The bigger question is, will The Boys be as unapologetically violent as the comic? Urban explains, “It was clear to me early on that tonally, we were going to do something a little different to that. But, that also, we were taking the basic elements of those characters that Garth had created, and sort of building a world, and an interesting and eclectic dimensional group of characters, which inhabited that world.” So, while there will be some departures, it still retains that core heart and brutality of Ennis’ comics.
Especially with Billy Butcher, though he plays things very close to the chest when we’re first introduced to his character. “Yeah, that’s actually a good observation, because when we meet Butcher in the pilot, he is essentially presenting a false image of himself on many different levels. And it’s really not until the second and definitely into the third episode, where you actually get to see a bit more of the full Machiavellian-like aspects of him,” Urban reflects on his character and shares Butcher has a softer side, too, “He’s charming. But also, very brutal and very driven to achieve what he wants to achieve. And the sadness about the character is, when you later on find out why he’s doing what he’s doing. That is why he forms this bond with Hughie, because there’s an empathy there that is born out of experiential understanding.”
One thing that Quaid and Urban want to make clear is that there’s plenty of room for this refreshing take on the superhero concept in an era inundated with superhero content. Urban explains, “The good thing about The Boys, is that it offers an ultimate narrative to the superhero stories that we’ve thus far been given. And the great thing is I think that there’s room there for all kinds of stories. And, certainly, I would hope that the world of The Boys is embraced and loved and cherished and appreciated as much as any Marvel or DC movie, or vehicle. There’s certainly a lot of fun to be had, and that’s really kind of the main point, really.”
To tease just how much fun there is to be had with The Boys, we asked about the mechanics of filming the key fight scene in the pilot episode; a hysterical yet ruthless battle between Hughie, Butcher, and the invisible superhero Translucent.
“Well, I just had my ass kicked by this invisible man. Karl had to do all the fighting. I mean, on the set, watching Karl fight no one, was maybe one of the highlights of the entire shoot for me, because it was so convincing that I mean …you did the fighting, dude,” Quaid says of and to his scene partner, Urban, who had the much more challenging job.
“Yeah, I’m just glad that the authorities didn’t see me there, taking wild swings at [the air] or I might have been locked up. I would’ve looked completely insane. But no, it’s definitely one of the trickier fights that I’ve done in my career. And purely because normally, when you’re fighting in scenes, you can see what’s coming at you, and it’s a ballet,” Urban explains of the challenges involved with fighting an invisible opponent. “But you take a dance partner away, and suddenly you are out in no man’s land a little bit. But, yeah. It was a lot of fun, and it was a huge challenge.”
You won’t want to miss Billy Butcher and Wee Hughie kick major superhero butt when The Boys drops on Amazon Prime Video on July 26, 2019. There’s gore aplenty, insane bloodshed, laser babies, a surprising amount of depth, and so much more.