Jared Padalecki’s The Boys Character Officially Confirmed (& He’s the Replacement for S5’s Dead Hero)

Though it has long been known that Jared Padalecki would appear in The Boys season 5, his role in the show’s final season has now finally been confirmed. After Jensen Ackles was announced as Soldier Boy in The Boys, fans of Supernatural have held out hope to see the actor reunited with his former co-star, Jared Padalecki. Season 5 will make that reunion a reality, with Padalecki cast in a mystery role, as well as Misha Collins, who played Castiel in Supernatural alongside both Ackles and Padalecki. While the identity of Padalecki’s character in The Boys was kept under wraps for some time, the actor has now officially confirmed his role.

While appearing at the FACTS Convention in Belgium, Padalecki was asked about the long-held theory that he will play Mister Marathon in season 5 of The Boys. In a clip shared on TikTok, Padalecki confirmed that he will indeed play the speedster, with the supe introduced into The Boys after having been referenced more than once over previous seasons. Mister Marathon’s appearance makes sense, too, with A-Train’s death in the season 5 premiere making way for his predecessor to finally be introduced into the show.

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What To Expect From Jared Padalecki’s Mister Marathon

All that is currently known about Mister Marathon in The Boys TV show is that he is a former member of the Seven whose tenure in the team was shorter than that of A-Train. In the comics, Mister Marathon was killed after only a brief appearance, so it already appears that the show has opted to move away from his story in the source material. Confirmed by Eric Kripke as appearing in episode 5 alongside Misha Collins’ mystery character, only a few details about Mister Marathon’s role in the show have been confirmed.

Kripke previously described both Padalecki and Collins’ appearance in the show as them both playing “douchebags”, which certainly fits with the image of Mister Marathon so far painted by The Boys‘ few scant references to the character. It is speculated that both Collins and Padalecki’s appearances will be brief, but this has yet to be confirmed either way. However, paying off previous references to the hero made by A-Train and Lamplighter by having Padalecki play him is already a solid payoff.

It could be that Mister Marathon is enlisted by Soldier Boy or Billy Butcher to help defeat Homelander in The Boys season 5, or that Homelander might call upon the former Seven supe to bolster the ranks of his superhuman army. While his allegiance is as yet unknown, it doesn’t seem likely that Mister Marathon will play a major role, in part due to how little he features in the source material, but also because of the timing of his introduction. Regardless, seeing Jared Padalecki reunite with both Misha Collins and Jensen Ackles under Eric Kripke’s creative direction is a satisfying treat for Supernatural fans, and is likely to deliver a noteworthy moment within the context of The Boys‘ story.

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