The main cast of The Boys has some characteristically explicit words of encouragement and advice for the newcomers of the spin-off Gen V, premiering this week on Prime Video.
In a new video posted to The Boys’ X (formerly Twitter) account, actors from the satirical superhero series tread the line between themselves and the characters they portray as they address the cast of Gen V and celebrate their arrival into the shared universe. “Welcome to the family, Gen V!” they begin as a group, with Jessie T. Usher’s A-Train adding a reference to Marvel’s X-Men comics: “Hope you survive the experience.”
Jack Quaid‘s Hughie, Antony Starr‘s Homelander, Erin Moriarty‘s Annie/Starlight, Karen Fukuhara’s Kimiko, Colby Minifie‘s Ashley Barrett, Claudia Doumit‘s Victoria Neuman, and Cameron Crovetti’s Ryan also appear in the video, each one making a quip or sharing a thought about the unusual environment of The Boys universe.
Will the Gen V students survive the experience?
The X-Men are a group of mutant superheroes whose early comics had the line “Hope you survive the experience!” as a running joke on the covers of many issues as new characters were introduced to the team. This is an especially appropriate reference for Gen V, not only because of the high death toll that fans have come to expect from the franchise, but because the spin-off was partially based on the G-Men, an X-Men parody team from the original The Boys comics. The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke explained, “I would say it’s loosely inspired by an element of the comics, which is the G-Men,” and citing the “educational, college experience” theme.
The cast of Gen V includes Chance Perdomo as Andre Anderson, Lizze Broadway as Emma Meyer, Maddie Phillips as Cate Dunlap, Patrick Schwarzenegger as Luke Riordan, Jaz Sinclair as Marie Moreau, and London Thor and Derek Luh as Jordan Li. Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters are co-showrunners and executive producers.
Gen V premieres on Prime Video Friday, September 29, 2023, from Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television.