Karl Urban is one of the most prolific Kiwi actors of all time, not only appearing in a vast number of films and TV series, but also in some high-profile ones. He’s had significant parts in huge Hollywood epics including Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok, but it’s his role as Billy Butcher in The Boys that stands out above all the rest.
The upcoming season of The Boys is likely to boost Urban’s profile further. In addition to that, if the series is turned into a wider franchise, he could become a household name outside of New Zealand.
The Boys is One of Amazon’s Top Offerings
The Boys is based on a series of comics from Garth Ennis that ran from 2006 to 2012. Outside of the world of graphic novels, the eponymous antihero team were not previously well known. However, the adaptation from Amazon Studios has changed that, and The Boys series from Eric Kripke is now one of the most-watched offerings on Amazon Prime Video.
The series focuses on Urban as the leader of a team of antiheroes, looking to take down corrupt superheroes whose reckless and destructive behavior usually goes unchecked. The other main cast members include Jack Quaid, Anthony Starr, and Erin Moriarty, who have all been lauded for their performances. The series has been met with critical acclaim, and it has approval ratings of 84 and 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes for its first and second seasons respectively. The Guardian wrote how the series acted as the perfect solution for people who are sick of the traditional superhero genre.
What do we Know About The Boys Season Three?
The next installment of The Boys is one of the most eagerly anticipated series on Amazon Prime, and fans have been desperate for clues about when it could be released. They were put out of their misery recently when an official announcement said that the first three episodes would drop on June 3rd.
The teaser said: “Heads will explode, and not in the figurative kind of way.” This is in relation to the mysterious person in season two who had caused various characters’ heads to burst. Viewers were left baffled for most of the season, wondering who was behind all this carnage. However, at the end of the final episode it was revealed, and this person appears to be set up as the primary antagonist for season three.
How is Amazon Planning to Expand the Franchise?
Thanks to the popularity of The Boys, it seems that Amazon is now growing keen on the idea of turning it into a franchise that spans beyond the main series. This is something that a lot of production companies are doing nowadays, as it can help attract more viewers.
If this comes to fruition, The Boys will be following in the footsteps of other hugely popular shows of recent times such as Rick and Morty and The Walking Dead. Both series have been massively boosted by the availability of games on various platforms. These include mobile offerings like Pocket Mortys and The Walking Dead: Our World, as well as online casino games. At VegasSlotsOnline, players can find several titles, including the Rick and Morty Megaways game and The Walking Dead pokies, and have the option of playing them for free before staking any money. The site also highlights the vast number of other film and TV franchises that have expanded into slots. These include Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and Vikings.
It has already been announced that there will be at least two spinoffs of The Boys, signifying how the birth of a franchise may have begun. The first of these will be The Boys: Diabolical, which is an eight-episode animated anthology set for release in 2022. The other is a G-Men spinoff, which will focus on a superhero college set within the universe of The Boys.
It looks like The Boys will continue to be one of Amazon’s main offerings for many years, meaning that Urban will be able to cement his status as one of the best actors from New Zealand. There’s no doubt that he was born for the role of Butcher, and it’s already one of his best turns on the screen.
