Amazon Sets Main Cast For Graphic Novel Adaptation The Boys

The Boys has released several casting announcements for the show’s main players, who are all members of The Seven. Amazon’s live-action adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic book is slowly taking shape after several setbacks in the past. Principal photography is scheduled to commence sometime this year with Supernatural creator Eric Kripke overseeing the project.

Being in development for quite some time now, The Boys has gone through a tumultuous process before landing an eight-episode order back in November. It was intended to be a film adaptation and then reformatted for small screen series on Cinemax that was scheduled last year. Luckily, the production had some notable names attached to it, like Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (the team behind AMC hit, Preacher), it has finally found its home on Amazon.

Deadline reports The Boys has found its lead cast with a slew of actors that may be familiar to fans, considering their previous small screen gigs. Antony Starr (American Gothic) will play Homelander, the series’ primary protagonist and patriotic leader of the Seven. Dominique McElligott (The Last Tycoon), is Queen Maeve, also known as Empress of the Otherworld. She’s a longtime member of the time who has superpower strength, flight, and durability. Gossip Girl‘s Chace Crawford will play The Deep, a team regular who is poised as this comic’s version of the “King of the Seas” (like Aquaman). The character was originally depicted as an African-American, so it’ll be interesting to see how fans react to the heritage change. Jessie T. Usher (Survivor’s Remorse) will play the A-Train, who is similar to DC’s Flash with super speed ability. Finally, iZombie actor Nathan Mitchell will play Black Noir, the primary antagonist of the narrative. He is said to be the strongest in the bunch. It remains to be seen how Amazon will spin the enigmatic figure, considering he’s supposedly a clone of the Homelander.

The five actors join Erin Moriarty as Starlight – a young lady who can fly, project blinding light and super-hearing. Her characterization, however, is far more complex than your goody-two-shoes hero given her tendency to drastic mood swings furthered by her alcohol dependency. Much like her new castmates, the actress has played a couple of supporting roles in high-profile TV shows such as HBO’s True Detective and Netflix’s Jessica Jones.

With an ensemble cast carrying The Boys, the members’ chemistry is pivotal to get people invested in these characters. Just like any team consisting of interesting characters, all having thing individual issues to deal with on top of big egos, we can expect that there will be some butting heads along the way. The series’ main draw, however, is its unique premise in a genre that is populated with similar stories.

No official release date for The Boys yet but it is expected to roll out in early 2019.