Hollywood’s double strikes reshaped Comic-Con 2023, with talent unable to promote buzzy new genre projects, like Amazon’s ‘The Boys’ spinoff. The cast and showrunner on what would have gone down in San Diego: “We had a lot of body parts exploding.”
The explosive Gen V panel that wasn’t, from left: London Thor, Michele Fazekas, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jaz Sinclair and Asa Germann.
Gregg DeGuire/Variety via Getty Images. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images. Presley Ann/Variety via Getty Images. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images. Araya Doheny/Getty Images.
In 2019, Lizze Broadway was at San Diego Comic-Con when the whispers began. “The Boys are coming. The Boys are coming.” A few minutes later, castmembers including Karl Urban and Jack Quaid walked by, seemingly in slow motion. “For a show I knew nothing about, this moment stuck with me big time,” says Broadway, who plays size-changing student Emma. Four years later, Broadway and her fellow cast were preparing to show off Amazon’s college-set The Boys spinoff, Gen V, at their own Comic-Con panel — a chance to assure the 4,800 or so fans of The Boys who were packed into the convention center that the new series would be just as raunchy and violent as the mother ship. The strike derailed that. But, months later, the Gen V team tells THR how it would have gone down.
What moment from season one did you want to show off?
MICHELE FAZEKAS (showrunner) We had a lot of body parts exploding. To see a collective reaction to that would’ve been hilarious.
PATRICK SCHWARZENEGGER (Luke “Golden Boy” Riordan) Selfishly, I would love to have seen the end of the pilot when my character blows himself up. It’s such a catalyzing moment and so unexpected that I would’ve loved to have seen the reaction in real time.
Any jokes only hard-core fans might have picked up on in hindsight?
FAZEKAS There is a recurring dumb joke about a guard named Bob. Nobody gets Bob’s name right. People are always mistaking other people for Bob. In the end, Bob gets his face punched into oblivion by Sam [Asa Germann]. I always wonder if people noticed this!
Which co-stars’ chemistry would have been fawned on by social media?
CHANCE PERDOMO (Andre Anderson) I know for a fact that Lizze and I would be cracking each other up. You would have definitely seen some cute bromance from Asa and Derek as well.
JAZ SINCLAIR (Marie Moreau) Getting to watch London Thor and Derek Luh [who play, respectively, the female and male versions of bi-gender superhero Jordan Li] interact would have been a treat. They’re so in sync.
SHELLEY CONN (Dean Indira Shetty) This show is an ensemble, and I think everyone shares a great chemistry. I have to say, I’m so impressed with how well Derek and London worked with each other, I’m sure fans would’ve loved to see them both together and as individuals.
LONDON THOR (female Jordan Li) I’ve never seen a friendship as powerful and lovely as the one between Derek and Asa. They are like the Abbott and Costello of the modern age. They play off each other so well that sometimes when the three of us hang out, I feel like a third wheel.
ASA GERMANN (Sam) I’m pretty sure everyone else in the cast will say it would be Derek and I, but please, do not be fooled. We do not get along. We are not best friends. We do not spend a concerning amount of time together. The rumors are not true.
Is there a surprise The Boys castmember who would have been on your dream list to pop by during the panel?
DEREK LUH (male Jordan Li) I would have loved for Karen [Fukuhara] to pop up on us. Not only because she’s the most badass in the show but because I love her. She’s amazing!
What was it like watching the show hit without being able to acknowledge it publicly?
SINCLAIR It was bittersweet. Wanting to share in that excitement was huge. Wanting to be like, “Oh my gosh, guys, look what we did!” To celebrate all our hard work and how fucking cool the show turned out. But there was also a charm to getting to watch it all unfold behind a curtain.
MADDIE PHILLIPS (Cate Dunlap) Watching the show become a hit with the fans has been really heartwarming and feels like the biggest cherry on top of what was already such a fun and fulfilling experience. It’s a daunting thing to be cast in a series and even more daunting when it’s a spinoff of a beloved show, so I’m incredibly grateful for the reception.
GERMANN In large part watching people experience the show without any external involvement from us was, strangely, great. When Gen V was actually released, it had been about a year since we had all finished filming, so getting to re-experience it all with the audience in that way was pretty special.
This story first appeared in the Dec. 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
