The Boys Season 2: Antony Starr Hints at Giancarlo Esposito’s Role

In a cameo that got fans talking immediately, Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito appeared in the season finale of Amazon’s The Boys as Stan Edgar, the man in charge of Vought International. He arrived in grand fashion, offering Shue’s Madelyn Stillwell a massive raise and promotion after pushing a piece of massive pro-superhero legislation through Congress. The Boys showrunner Erick Kripke has been vague about his plans for the chracter, but promised fans that Esposito’s role will grow into a pretty major role as the show moves into its sophomore season, appearing in upwards of half the episodes in the upcoming season.

During our exclusive interview with Anthony Starr, who plays Homelander on the series, we asked him to give us a little hint as to what to expect from Stan Edgar this season. He didn’t give us much, but what he did was tantalizing.

“We come into season two, and Homelander is unwell,” Starr told ComicBook.com. “He’s missing Stillwell, but he’s become the master of his own universe. The person running interference, or maybe just the interference, that is Stillwell has been removed, so he now has a direct line with Edgar. Homelander thinks he’s the most important player in the game, so to speak, but Edgar very much comes from a different angle. He represents a big corporation and he really puts Homelander into a very interesting position for a superhero that is used to getting his own way and being so strong and in control. Edgar really throws the cat amongst the pigeons there and it sets old Homey off on a bizarre trajectory.”

Starr also praised Esposito’s work, saying that working with the star was great, and that he hopes the audience sees the fun they had.

Esposito’s journey into the world of The Boys fulfills his long-held desire to make a live-action superhero appearance; back in 2016, Esposito told ComicBook.com that he wanted to be in a Marvel Studios movie so badly that he actually turned down a role in a Marvel TV project because, at that time, the convention wisdom was that there would be no cross-pollination between the two.

“I know the Marvel world exists on the Disney lot. I love those guys at Marvel. We’ve been trying to figure out how to collaborate on something,” Esposito said. “I’m hoping that it is something. They came to me with something for their television department, then I realized if I did that, I’d never be able to have that same character be in that film department. Once you’re in a Marvel character in the television version, you have to stay in the particular character. They can’t carry that over to film.”

You can read the official Season 2 synopsis below.

“In Season 2, The Boys are on the run from the law, hunted by the Supes, and desperately trying to regroup and fight back against Vought. In hiding, Hughie (Jack Quaid), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capon), and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) try to adjust to a new normal, with Butcher (Karl Urban) nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, Starlight (Erin Moriarty) must navigate her place in The Seven as Homelander (Antony Starr) sets his sights on taking complete control. His power is threatened with the addition of Stormfront (Aya Cash), a social-media-savvy new Supe, who has an agenda of her own. On top of that, the Supervillain threat takes center stage and makes waves as Vought seeks to capitalize on the nation’s paranoia.”

The Boys will return for season 2 with new episodes on September 4. The first three episodes will debut on that date with five weekly episodes following in the subsequent weeks.