The Boys recently debuted its fourth season with Billy Butcher’s quest to destroy the Vought empowered supes reaching a new stage of diabolical desperation. The fourth installment also introduces actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a key role as a character with close ties to Butcher’s past who assigns him a deadly new mission.
Ahead of the fourth season’s premiere, the speculation was rife that Morgan would be playing a character who is a figment of Butcher’s tortured mental psyche. In season 4, Butcher deals with a brain tumor which further supports the theory, but it has seemingly been squashed after showrunner Eric Kripke’s recent comments about a spin-off focused on Morgan’s character.
The Boys Showrunner Eric Kripke Teases Spin-off Series Starring
The fourth season of The Boys introduces Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the role of Joe Kessler, a long-time friend of Billy Butcher (Karl Urban). Kessler harbors an equal amount of disdain for supes as his friend and assigns Butcher a new task that requires even more drastic methods than the latter usually resorts to.
During an interview with Deadline, showrunner Eric Kripke teased that a spin-off focusing on Morgan’s character could be a possibility if the actor is interested in reprising the role. Kripke said:
Hey, man, if Jeffrey wants to do it, and it works out, who wouldn’t want to Jeffrey Dean Boys spinoff?
Kripke’s comment seemingly crashes the theory regarding Morgan’s character being a figment of Butcher’s imagination.
However, the early episodes of season 4 suggest that Morgan’s Joe Kessler is a real person with an interesting past. Furthermore, Morgan’s role in the first three episodes of season 4 raises many intriguing questions about Kessler and his hatred for the supes.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s Potential The Boys Spin-Off Debunks a Butcher Theory
Kripke’s tease about the possibility of a Morgan-led spin-off of The Boys debunked the theory of his character being merely a part of Butcher’s imagination. The Boys season 4 has laid down a strong foundation for the potential spin-off and fans are seemingly embracing the idea that Morgan is more than just a result of Butcher’s deteriorating condition.
So there goes that theory that he was a figment.
One fan made the above comment through the social media platform X. At the same time other fans expressed their excitement and support for a Morgan-led spin-off series.
Going into the fourth installment, Butcher was expected to be turning senile from the use of Compound V to gain temporary superpowers. As a result, fans had theorized that Morgan’s character who pushes Butcher to take extreme measures against the supes was merely a part of the latter’s disillusion.
With season 4 now in full swing and Kripke’s recent comments, that possibility seems to have diminished. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see where Morgan’s Joe Kessler ends up at the conclusion of the fourth installment. Three episodes of season 4 dropped on June 13, 2024, while the rest will be released weekly.
The Boys is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
