Amazon expands ‘The Boys’ universe with ‘Diabolical’ animation

The Boys

Amazon has ordered a second spin-off from its subversive superhero drama The Boys, this time an animated series.

The Boys: Diabolical is being produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television, with Eric Kripke – the original programme’s showrunner – exec producing alongside Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and others.

The eight-part animated version will be set in the same universe as The Boys and will explore untold stories from that show, which is now into its third season.

Production of Diabolical is almost wrapped, Kripke told Comic Con in Brazil, and the new show is set to debut 2022.

It will join a now three-pronged collection of Boys shows, with the original series joined by a college-based spin-off that was ordered in September.

That story will take place at a college exclusively for young-adult superheroes and is described as “an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities.”

The Boys, meanwhile, launched on Prime Video in 2019 and is based on the 2006-2012 comic book series by Ennis and Robertson. It follows a team of vigilantes as they combat super-powered individuals who abuse their abilities while hiding behind heroic personas.

The cast is headed by Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Lord Of The Rings), alongside Jack Quaid, Antony Starr and Erin Moriarty.