Jensen Ackles On Soldier Boy’s Origin In The Boys Prequel Vought Rising
The Boys star Jensen Ackles teases how Soldier Boy will be different in the upcoming prequel Vought Rising. Set during the 1950s, Vought Rising‘s story sees Ackles reprising the role of Soldier Boy in his heyday, along with exploring the origins of Vought and Compound V.
Soldier Boy is not the only familiar character starring in the prequel, as Aya Cash is also returning to portray Stormfront, who previously appeared in The Boys seasons 2 and 3. Ackles is also playing Soldier Boy again in The Boys season 5.
While speaking with Variety, Ackles hints that Soldier Boy will not have the same “swagger and gravitas” as in The Boys because he has not spent decades as “the top dog.” He emphasized that Soldier Boy won’t feel like an entirely different character, but he won’t be “the tough guy” fans think they know.
Ackles also addresses the unique experience he and Cash have had with returning to characters they have played before on a different show where they are surrounded by a new cast of actors. Check out his comments below:
Obviously, they’re the same guy, but certainly there’s a lot of life that Soldier Boy has lived when we see him in “The Boys” and when we see him in Season 5 — how he’s relating to people, the things that are important to him, the things that he’s willing to just slough off, his idea of the life he wants to lead. And then going back 70-odd years to see him when he was really starting to get going, I’m able now to deal with the struggles that made him who he became, and you start to see him before he has necessarily the swagger and the gravitas and the life lived of 75 years of being the top dog.
[“Vought Rising”] predates all that, so I think I’m trying to show a little bit more of an early version of it — not necessarily an innocence to it, but there’s certainly scenes, relationships and character traits that predate how we see him in modern day, and that’s fun to play with. Now, that’s not to say he’s going to be a completely different character and he’s not going to be the tough guy that I think we know and love. That’s there, and we’ll get there quickly, but it is fun to show the origin of how this guy became who he is, and what were the little tricks and little ticks that crafted him into where we see him now.
But it’s funny — Aya [Cash, who plays Stormfront] and I were talking and working together the other day. It’s weird coming into a show almost feeling like you’re coming back to a show, because you’re playing the same character, but it’s a totally different show. There’s all new actors that you’re working with, all new characters, and all new relationships that you’re developing as that character, and she was like, “It’s like coming home, and you’ve sold the house and there’s a new family living there. This feels familiar, but feels very unfamiliar too.” So we’re still trying to find our footing. I’m glad we have each other, and everybody that we’re working with has been super great.
What This Means For Vought Rising
Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy in The Boys
Ackles’ comments indicate that when he is first introduced in the 1950s, Soldier Boy will not have the confidence and arrogance that defines his personality in The Boys. This version of the character is not as sure of himself and has not yet become the world’s most well-known supe in the years before Homelander.
Such an approach has the potential to make Soldier Boy feel more humane and relatable than he is in The Boys, although that will not last for too long. Vought Rising will show how Soldier Boy gets to the point of being the corporation’s “top dog” and the face of supes around the world, and what causes his unparalleled sense of entitlement.
With The Boys season 5 having already finished filming and releasing before Vought Rising, it will be fascinating to see Soldier Boy in modern day, and then have that contrasted with his origins in Vought Rising. It will add more context and potentially recontextualize a great deal of his journey in The Boys.
Soldier Boy looking down in The Boys season 3 episode 7
Soldier Boy is one of the most entertaining characters in The Boys franchise, but he’s also one of the most unlikable due to his bigotry, arrogance, and the callous ways he hurts others. From Ackles’ comments, it is unclear whether the prequel will make him sympathetic or if he will just lack swagger and confidence at this point.
I personally hope it is more of the latter, as not every villainous character needs a sympathetic backstory. It is more compelling to explore the idea that Soldier Boy was never a good person in The Boys universe, and that Vought and Compound V simply enabled the worst version of him.
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