Why The Boys Movie Trilogy Was Canceled, Explained

The Boys is full of in-universe films – but did you know the Prime Video superhero satire was itself almost a trio of big screen blockbusters? Here’s a breakdown of The Boys movie trilogy’s development, including why it was ultimately canceled.

Related: How to Watch The Boys and Its Spinoffs in Order

A Brief History of The Boys Movie Trilogy’s Doomed Development Cycle

The Boys‘ executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and the original comic book series’ co-creator Darick Robertson recapped the unmade movie trilogy’s history in a Rolling Stone feature. According to Rogen and Goldberg, they pitched Sony Pictures on a live-action, cinematic adaptation of The Boys as soon as the comics’ first issue dropped in October 2006. Sony immediately clocked the material’s potential, but didn’t want Rogen and Goldberg steering the production.

“We were like, ‘Holy s—t, this is f—king crazy,'” Rogen said, reflecting on his and Goldberg’s reaction to The Boys #1. “And that week we went to Sony and we’re like, ‘You guys should make this.'” “And they were like, ‘We should… with someone else,'” Goldberg added. Sony then snapped up the rights to The Boys and spent 10 years trying to translate it to the screen. At one point, The Big Short director Adam McKay entered the picture and came this close to getting a trilogy off the ground.

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Indeed, the first installment in McKay’s three-part take on The Boys was deep into pre-production before Sony pulled the plug. As noted in the Rolling Stone feature, the first film’s script was complete and several animatics were done before the trilogy was abandoned. And lest fans think that quality issues were behind the demise of McKay’s movie version of The Boys, Robertson was quick to praise the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s approach to the property.

“I wouldn’t change how it worked out,” Robertson said. “Because the show is amazing. But [McKay] was doing really cool stuff [with The Boys movie trilogy].”

Why The Boys Movie Trilogy Didn’t Happen

So, if The Boys movie trilogy was progressing well under McKay’s stewardship, why did Sony cancel it? Robertson chalked up the project’s failure to timing. When McKay and his team were working on The Boys, superhero movies hadn’t fully blown up yet. True, there were some big cape-and-tights flicks around that time, including Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and the X-Men series. But The Dark Knight and Iron Man were still months away, and the MCU wasn’t even a thing yet.

Related: The Boys’ Big Comic Book Twist Would’ve Ruined the Show

“[The Boys trilogy’s cancelation] just came down to it being 2008, not 2018,” Robertson explained. “I just don’t think they were ready for it yet.” After shutting down McKay’s production, Sony took several more unsuccessful swings at converting The Boys into one or more movies. Eventually, the studio gave up, Goldberg, Rogen, and The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke secured the rights to make a TV series, and the rest is history!

The Boys Season 4 is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.