The Boys season 4 premiere: EP on Kessler, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
There were absolutely a number of big reveals that took place over the course of The Boys premiere, but why not talk Joe Kessler?
Pretty early on here, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s long-mysterious character was finally revealed. With him, we have a guy with ties to the CIA, and also a history with Billy Butcher. He’s someone who could allow the character to give in to his darker impulses, and that may mean that we’re going to have a chance to see him split even further from the group he founded. We already know that Mother’s Milk was never that thrilled to have him around and by virtue of that, things may just be accelerating further now.
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No what went into the casting of Morgan in this role? Speaking to Variety, here is some of what showrunner Eric Kripke had to say, including how they are still trying to reference the comics in some way:
It’s more of a nod and feeling like we’re still in love with the comics and when we can have tie-ins, we’ll take them. The notion came up reasonably early to have a CIA agent who was very much like a Butcher. Almost everyone in Butcher’s life is trying to pull him back and say, “Don’t do that, Butcher!” And we said, well, what if there was someone in his life who was like, “No, you definitely have to do that. And go further, and go harder.”
So in effect, you need another Butcher. And it’s not easy to find someone who can go toe to toe with Karl, in terms of screen presence and charisma and danger. And luckily, that was the same time that Jeffrey Dean had let me know he might be available for that season. And I’m like, “Oh, thank God, because that’s perfect.” You have somebody who’s got Karl’s weight and stature. And since he was a CIA guy, I said, well, we should call them Kessler and just do our version of Kessler. If you look carefully, it’s such a throwaway, but for even Sage and in Episode 2, when her license comes up, her name is Jessica Bradley — who is a big character in the comics also. And she’s not at all like the Jessica Bradley in the comments, but we’re always trying to nod that we’re paying attention.
How much trouble will Joe Kessler cause?
Well, here is our big fear: This could end up separating Butcher further from what really matters and for him, we know that this is his relationship with Ryan. If he is only going to be around for a short period of time from here on out, shouldn’t he just stay focused on that? In theory, that makes more sense than anything else…
Related – Get more news on The Boys now, including the role of Tilda Swinton
What did you think about the events of The Boys season 4 premiere overall?
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This article was written by Jessica BunBun.