Summary
The Boysparodies the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Vought unveils an overpacked slate of movies and television series planned for theVought Cinematic Universe’s phases seven through nineteen. These projects are unveiled by the Deep and Cameron Coleman at a Vought convention called the V52 Expo, where many of the cheering attendees cosplay as Homelander, Maeve, A-Train, and other supes who have worked for Vought. The convention also features footage of the upcoming content that Vought will be releasing.
On X, creator and showrunnerEric Kripkeprovided acloser look at the announced slate of fictional films and television series, including the unsubtle titles ofA-Train: Into the MultiverseandG-Men: Days Past from the Future. Check out the image of phases seven through ten below:
Kripke highlighted the careful attention to detail that was put into this one shot and that he wanted to be able to describe the plot of each fictional project. The plot ofTraining A-Trainwas shown in episode 2 with an offensively tone-deaf story and a hilarious Will Ferrell cameo that is expanded on with additional footage in episode 5.
Despite Marvel’s Best Efforts, The Boys Parody Still Works
The MCU Still Has Numerous Phases Planned As The Boys Enters Its Endgame.
As the MCU tries to stretch out its central story,The Boysis focused on bringing its main narrative to a satisfying conclusion, enabling it to end on a high note so it will never become indistinguishable from what it parodies.
In response to diminishing box office returns on certain films, poor reception for some of the Disney+ series, and the criticism of an overabundance of projects, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced thatMarvel was scaling back the amount of content it releases each year. This is evident in Marvel’s 2024 slate of movies, withDeadpool & Wolverinebeing the only theatrical release. Meanwhile, there has been criticism thatThe Boysis becoming what it parodies with its spinoffs ofGen V, the animated anthologyThe Boys Presents: Diabolical, and the upcomingThe Boys: Mexicoseries.
The Boys Season 4’s Timeline Shows How Badly The MCU Messed Up After Endgame
The Boys season 4’s timeline is now confirmed, and it serves to highlight one way the MCU massively slipped up after Avengers: Endgame.
Despite this criticism,The Boys' MCU parody still works. The MCU continues to havean overabundance of future projects lined up. In terms of just movies,Captain America: Brave New World,Thunderbolts*,The Fantastic Four, andBladeare all scheduled for 2025 theatrical releases, althoughBlade’songoing production issueswill likely lead it to be rescheduled to a later year. There are still plans to further expand the Multiverse Saga, building toAvengers: Kang DynastyandAvengers: Secret Wars.
One of the most critical differences between the MCU andThe Boysis that the Prime Video series has committed to a definitive ending. Season 5 has been announced as thefinal season ofThe Boys, culminating the story as Kripke intended, and with the conflict between Homelander and Billy Butcher coming to a head. As the MCU tries to stretch out its central story,The Boysis focused on bringing its main narrative to a satisfying conclusion, enabling it toend on a high note so it will never become indistinguishable from what it parodies.
The Boys
Cast
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
