Erin Moriarty Thinks Other Superhero Actors Are Jealous Of The Boys

"The Boys" earned its place in superhero history. An ultra-violent look at superheroes, the show broadly centered on a group of vigilantes who seek to take down corrupt heroes who abuse their powers. It was effective and interesting enough that other actors within the larger realm of superhero cinema were jealous of the show.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in honor of "The Boys" Season 5, Erin Moriarty, who plays Starlight in the series, discussed the show as it was coming to a close. Starlight did some terrible things in "The Boys" despite being a hero. She wasn't a polished Marvel or DC poster child. When asked whether actors from more conventional superhero projects had said they wished their show or movie could do what this show does, Moriarty didn't mince words:

"They have. (Laughs.) They've also come up to me and said that they want the catharsis that us Boys actors are lucky to be a part of when it comes to taking on topical issues. There's so much, pardon my language, s**t going on in the world, and whether it's social or political commentary, I know that a lot of us have benefited from the cathartic element of being a part of a show that doesn't ignore those things."

She continued, "Other actors will primarily come up to me and say, 'I wish I was on a show that wasn't just specifically catered toward the genre, but also deals with the things that we're all observing and feeling uneasy about.'"

Moriarty was in a Marvel TV series, namely "Jessica Jones," before joining "The Boys." So she has some experience in that world. Marvel and DC can be limiting, and that can frustrate the actors playing in those sandboxes, as evidenced by Moriarty's comments.

The fact is that Marvel, which is owned by Disney, has a brand to protect. There are billions of dollars on the line. The same applies to DC, which is owned by Warner Bros. For as much as a movie like "Joker" can go out on a limb, there are limitations to what these giant corporations are willing to do with IP like this. Heck, Kevin Feige tried to steer James Gunn away from using the F-word in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." One damn word.

Amazon, on the other hand, was willing to let "The Boys" go pretty far, be it in terms of violence, language, or social commentary. Erin Moriarty gave a specific example of a situation that was pretty surprising to her. "The Boys" Season 4 finale racked up a shocking body count, but it also had some ties to things going on in the real world at the time. As Moriarty explained:

"I played two characters in that episode: Annie and a shapeshifter. And my shapeshifter character attempts to assassinate the President-elect [Jim Beaver's Robert Singer]. The episode title was originally called 'Assassination Run,' but we had to rename the episode because it was set to air five days after the [July 13, 2024] assassination attempt against Trump. We shot the episode a year before it was released."

It's pretty easy to imagine Disney, Warner Bros., or just about any other media company shelving the episode altogether. Amazon ended up changing the title to "Season Four Finale," but it still aired. It's easy to see why an actor tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe might envy that sort of unrestricted storytelling freedom.

"The Boys" is streaming now on Prime Video