The Boys Cast Reflects on the Series Ahead of Wednesday’s Finale at Motor City Comic Con 2026

Photojournalist: Antonina Schubert

Fans packed into the Diamond Ballroom long before the panel even began for The Boys panel at Motor City Comic Con 2026. As hundreds of attendees lined up throughout the convention center waiting for doors to open, the anticipation surrounding the panel felt bigger than a typical convention appearance. Just days before the Prime Video series airs its final episode on Wednesday, May 20, the atmosphere inside the room carried the energy of fans preparing to celebrate the end of an era.

With Karl Urban, Laz Alonso, and Shawn Ashmore taking the stage, the room quickly erupted into laughter as the trio reflected on unforgettable moments from filming, the evolution of their characters, and the chaos that helped define one of television’s most unpredictable series. With the series nearing its end, the panel gave fans one last chance to celebrate the stories, relationships, and insanity that turned The Boys into a cultural phenomenon.

Urban kicked the hour off by reflecting on immediately being drawn to Billy Butcher when he first joined the series, laughing as he described the excitement of portraying someone capable of convincing the people around him “to do the most bat shit crazy things.” He also praised Alonso’s portrayal of Mother’s Milk from the very beginning of the show, telling the crowd, “he comes in fully formed as M.M.,” before adding, “I knew we were in for a great ride.”

Alonso recalled bringing that personality into the audition process from the very beginning, explaining that he started improvising M.M. ad-libs during his audition after making creator Eric Kripke laugh.

“As long as I hear laughs, I keep going,” Alonso joked.

The actor also discussed how series creator Eric Kripke maintained an open-door policy throughout filming, allowing cast members to pitch ideas or suggest adjustments to scenes if they felt it better reflected their characters. It is the kind of collaboration audiences do not always get to see behind the scenes, but it clearly played a major role in helping the characters of The Boys feel authentic and lived-in throughout all five seasons.

Ashmore, who joined the series in season two as Lamplighter, shared that he had already been a fan of The Boys before landing the role. He recalled both the excitement and nervousness that came with stepping into a world he already admired, explaining that he wanted to do the series justice as both an actor and a longtime fan. 

As the conversation continued, the cast reflected on how much of The Boys works because every character exists in a constant state of discovery, forcing audiences to reevaluate them over time. Alonso and Ashmore specifically discussed the complicated emotional history connecting Lamplighter, Frenchie, and M.M. throughout season two. What initially appeared to be a straightforward betrayal slowly unraveled into something far more layered as the truth surrounding Grace Mallory’s grandchildren finally came to light. 

The storyline remains one of the show’s strongest examples of how The Boys refuses to treat its characters as entirely good or evil. Lamplighter’s accidental killing of Mallory’s grandchildren shattered The Boys long before the events of season one, while Frenchie’s decision to abandon his post in order to save a friend suffering from an overdose created years of guilt, resentment, and misunderstanding between him and M.M. Throughout the panel, the cast repeatedly returned to the idea that the series worked because even its most flawed characters carried emotional scars and deeply human motivations underneath the violence and chaos.

That emotional complexity became one of the strongest recurring themes throughout the discussion. Urban reflected on one of the moments that first hooked him while filming the show: watching a villain commit horrific acts while still being able to see the trauma shaping them underneath. Across all five seasons, The Boys consistently explored how power, grief, trauma, and insecurity shaped its characters without necessarily excusing the damage they caused.

Alonso later received one of the biggest reactions of the afternoon while discussing the long-running fan conversation surrounding whether M.M. should have ever received powers of his own in the TV adaptation. Laughing, Alonso admitted he constantly pushed for the idea behind the scenes, joking, “give him powers. give him powers. give him Temp V.” However, his perspective on the character ultimately evolved over time. “If M.M. gets powers, his message gets lost,” Alonso explained before telling the crowd, “you don’t need superpowers to be super.” The response from the audience was immediate, with fans erupting into applause as Alonso reflected and became one of the panel’s most emotional moments.

Of course, no panel about The Boys would be complete without behind-the-scenes stories that sounded almost as outrageous as the show itself.

The crowd erupted in laughter throughout the panel as the cast shared behind-the-scenes memories from some of the show’s wildest moments. Urban recalled filming the infamous whale sequence from season two's “Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men,” revealing that the whale was built as a full practical set complete with interior and exterior components. According to the cast, temperatures reached nearly 110 degrees while filming on set, leading Urban to joke, “can we get some AC in the whale?” before Alonso quickly added, “in my defense they promised us AC in the whale.”

Urban also shared stories from filming the infamous Herogasm episode during the height of COVID production protocols, laughing as he recalled accidentally grabbing what he believed was hand sanitizer on set only to discover “it wasn’t hand sanitizer… who the fuck puts actual lube on a set?”

Ashmore had the audience laughing after revealing the unusual souvenir he kept from filming: a Zippo lighter reading “Titty Committee.” According to Ashmore, his wife later discovered it and was understandably confused before he explained where it came from.

The cast also reflected on the sheer unpredictability of filming The Boys over the years, with Urban admitting there were moments during production where he genuinely questioned, “how are we going to get away with this?” Alonso and Urban additionally revealed that portions of season five included unscripted lines throughout. One moment in particular being between Butcher and M.M. in “Through the Heaven Falls” where Butcher tells M.M., “this one is for you M.,” only for M.M. to respond with a blunt “fuck you.”

One of the funniest moments of the panel came while Alonso described filming a scene opposite Antony Starr’s Homelander during season five. Recalling the scene where Homelander licks his lips after learning M.M.’s name, Alonso revealed that Starr unexpectedly stuck “a thumb full of spit” into his ear during one of the takes. According to Alonso, the reaction ultimately used in the final cut was genuine. “I was taped up, he was doing all types of things,” Alonso laughed as the audience roared in response.

As the panel came to a close, the atmosphere inside the room felt bittersweet. Between the laughter, behind-the-scenes stories, and reflections on the relationships that carried the show across five seasons and 40 episodes, it was clear both the cast and fans understood they were celebrating more than just another television series.

Ahead of Wednesday’s finale, titled “Blood and Bone,” the panel felt less like a goodbye and more like a celebration of the characters, relationships, and emotional complexity that turned one of television’s bloodiest superhero series into something unexpectedly personal for both its cast and fans.