What The Boys Showrunner Eric Kripke Really Thinks About The Gen V Cancelation

• Television
• Superhero Shows

To "Gen V" fans sending angry hate mail, blistering direct messages, and other social media posts towards Eric Kripke, the creator of "The Boys" has one request: Please stop, because he's just as disappointed as you are. The news that "Gen V" had been officially canceled after two largely well-received seasons came as a shock to those of us who came to embrace the spin-off series set within the dorm rooms and hallways of the supe-school Godolkin University. That includes Kripke himself, by his own account, as he's weighing in on this setback to his growing shared universe. The main takeaway from his message? This came straight from Prime Video, not Kripke or his creative team.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kripke sought to set the record straight for a passionate and understandably miffed fanbase. "I did not cancel the show," he explained to the outlet. "One, I don't have the power to do that. Two, I was fighting to keep the show, almost more than anybody else on Earth. So I'm as bummed as everybody else out there." Kripke went on to say:

"These things are based on business decisions that are above my pay grade, among Amazon.

It's based on amount of viewers versus how expensive the show is to make, and does it make business sense for them, ultimately? And, unfortunately, they decided that it didn't."

Such is life in the streaming world, where any show with viewership numbers that don't keep up with the nebulous demands of executives is liable to be placed on the chopping block. This comes despite a fair amount of crossover with the rest of "The Boys" universe, throughout both seasons of "Gen V" and Season 4 of "The Boys." But could we see these characters again?

Eric Kripke isn't ruling out bringing back Gen V characters in other The Boys spin-offs

Though Season 2 of "Gen V" wasn't entirely without its flaws, showrunner Michelle Fazekas' superhero series mostly lived up to its potential as a more nuanced, Gen Z-focused story about supes scratching and clawing their way through the most intimidating gauntlet of them all: College. Protagonists like Jaz Sinclair's blood-bending Marie Moreau, London Thor and Derek Luh's gender-bending Jordan Li, the shrinking/growing hero Emma Meyer (Lizze Broadway), and beating heart Andre Anderson (the late Chance Perdomo) became instant fan-favorites, alongside complicated antiheroes/villains like Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips) and Asa Germann's Sam. Ideally, we would've been able to see their individual arcs told to completion within the confines of their own spin-off.

That wasn't to be, but there still might be some hope for "Gen V" fans. While "The Boys" is currently wrapping up its run with its fifth and final season, the so-called Vought Cinematic Universe appears to have plenty of room for our favorite hormonally imbalanced, V-powered college kids. That comes straight from Eric Kripke himself, who teased that the wheels may already be in motion for the return of these characters — some of them, at least:

"It's very early days, because we're focusing on getting 'Vought Rising' out into the world, but Amazon has expressed an interest and they want to hear more potential stories in the world. So we're internally brainstorming a couple different ideas. We'll see which ones get traction, but they all have the opportunity to absorb at least some of the 'Gen V' gang, and that's very much by design."

From Kripke's lips to Amazon's ears. Fans may want to tune into the remaining episodes of "The Boys" Season 5, streaming on Prime Video every Wednesday.