Will The Boys Season 5 Let Starlight Rewrite the Supe Power Map?

We are heading into the final season of The Boys, and the board is shifting in some very interesting ways. If a couple of old faces show up on the same side at the right time, Homelander might finally have a real fight on his hands.

The Starlight wild card that could flip Season 5

One of the stronger theories floating around is basically this: a Starlight-led push could get a serious boost if two things line up — Queen Maeve quietly slips back into play, and A-Train stays on his current path. Maeve survived that Season 3 blast with Soldier Boy and then vanished, which is a perfect setup for a stealth return. And A-Train? Season 4 pulled him away from Homelander, and Gen V Season 2 went further by actually showing him linked up with Starlight and the anti-Vought crowd in its finale. It’s a small but telling crossover detail that matters for where this story is headed.

Put Maeve and A-Train next to Starlight while The Seven are splintered and Homelander is getting less stable by the day, and suddenly the resistance does not look like a long shot. On paper, that is the most balanced power matchup we’ve seen since Season 1.

Jessie T. Usher on whether A-Train will backslide

A-Train himself might not be a lock, though. Jessie T. Usher told ScreenRant at the 2025 Saturn Awards that he could see the character swerving again — and he wouldn’t hate it if the writers went there.

"It would blow my mind to see him make another turn back to the dark side, but it also wouldn’t be uninteresting," Usher said, adding he is open to whatever comes next as long as it’s "creative, and it’s fun."

He also made it clear he thinks A-Train ended Season 4 pointed in the right direction:

"I feel like they really steered him in the right direction towards the end of season 4, he’s got his head on his shoulders."

For anyone catching up: by the end of Season 4, A-Train quit The Seven and slipped free of Homelander and Vought after flipping sides. Gen V then effectively stamped it canon by showing him working with Starlight and company in its Season 2 closer. The character is unpredictable, sure, but a full crawl back to Homelander now would be a shocker.

Karl Urban says to brace for early losses

Karl Urban, who plays Butcher, also tossed a grenade into the speculation pile during The Boys panel at FAN EXPO. He told ScreenRant that fans should expect pain right out of the gate.

"I think the real thing to look out for in season 5 on an emotional level, as far as the characters go, and your attachments to characters, there’s going to be some big hits early on in the very first episode."

Urban also said the stakes are higher than ever and viewers will be thrown "into the deep end" immediately. So, yes, maybe don’t get too comfortable with your favorites.

Where things stand heading into the finale

• Production wrapped earlier this year, around July 2025.
• Prime Video has set Season 5 for a 2026 release.
• It is the final season.
• Core cast returning: Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, and more.
• Maeve survived Season 3 and could resurface under the radar.
• A-Train left The Seven in Season 4; Gen V Season 2 showed him aligned with Starlight’s resistance.
• The Seven are fractured, and Homelander is more unstable than ever.

However this shakes out, Season 5 looks like the moment the resistance finally has the numbers and the nerve to take a real swing. If Maeve shows up and A-Train holds the line, Starlight’s side might actually have the edge — assuming they survive those "big hits" in episode one.

How do you want this to go? Does A-Train stay good? Does Maeve make the worst-kept secret comeback? I’m all ears.