The Boys fans worry it’ll end up like Star Wars after Gen V

Gen V closed out The Boys’ first live-action spinoff in diabolical style and even teed up Season 4 – but fans are worried the series could suffer the same fate as Star Wars and the MCU.

The Boys arrived on our screens as a tonic to Marvel mania in the wake of Avengers: Endgame, countering its family-friendly payoff with irreverent, raunchy, and brutal thrills.

Nobody foresaw the level of success that followed, with Amazon’s series now considered one of the most – if not the most – popular superhero shows on TV right now, one-upping itself with every season while the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s small-screen endeavor flip-flops between the lows of Secret Invasion and highs of Loki Season 2.

Gen V marks a significant expansion for the franchise, with key developments in the next season finding their roots in a spinoff… something that’s attracted the ire of a few fans.

The Boys fans support Gen V but worry about spinoffs

Most fans of The Boys appear to have enjoyed Gen V – you can check out our review of the finale here – but with its ending directly leading into Season 4 (including a great post-credits cameo), and the next season set to pick up shortly after the events of the finale, there’s concerns about ‘mandatory’ viewing outside the mainline series.

“I know this is gonna be an unpopular opinion since both of these shows are pretty well received but I’m not a fan of this thing where you now HAVE TO watch the spin-off shows to watch the main show. It’s what f*cked up the Star Wars TV shows,” one user wrote.

“A spin-off is great for developing a world separate from the main storyline/characters but then you get the Book of Boba Fett-style nonsense that’s just another season of The Mandalorian,” they added.

This echoes the recent stumbles and worries in the galaxy far, far away and the MCU: Ahsoka was well-liked, but it was ultimately a sequel series to two other shows with 11 seasons of backstory; and The Marvels may be a sequel to the billion-busting Captain Marvel, but it also follows Ms. Marvel, WandaVision, and Secret Invasion – which may be putting off moviegoers ahead of its premiere.

“TBH I’m losing interest in TV and movies now that everything is a universe I’m expected to binge,” another user tweeted. “It’s also what f*cked the MCU with how you have to watch the TV shows to understand some of the films,” a third wrote.

However, not everyone agrees. Many have argued that it isn’t fair to level the same complaints against The Boys given how little we get from the franchise compared to the MCU and Star Wars, and they’ve also praised Gen V for balancing its connection to the main show and telling its own story.

“Usually, I would agree with this. That being said, I think Gen V did a FANTASTIC job being its own show, providing context for potential new viewers on the climate of the characters and world that The Boys viewers already knew about. I wholeheartedly believe the same will be done for the next season of The Boys,” one wrote.

“You don’t have to watch Gen V though? The ending makes it pretty clear that the boys will continue after the events in Gen V, which I’m sure will be explained in two or three sentences. They’re not connected in the way Star Wars shows are supposed to be,” another tweeted. “The Boys Season 4 being set four days after Gen V doesn’t necessarily mean the stories are connected, since they’re set in the same universe it makes sense for the creators to establish a timeline,” a third wrote.

Gen V Episodes 1-8 are on Prime Video now, which you can sign up for here. You can check out our other coverage below:

Gen V review | Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Gen V ending explained | When does Gen V take place in The Boys timeline? | Gen V cast and characters | The Boys cameos | Gen V runtimes explained | Tek Knight powers explained | What is the Virus? | Jordan Li powers explained | Why does Soldier Boy return? | Every supe’s powers explained

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