The Boys: Gen V's Rated-R Violence May Be Too Troubling For Some Teens & Parents

"The Boys" is a subversive take on the modern superhero genre where supes are likelier to be debaucherous party animals than virtuous paragons of justice. It ramps up everything to the umpteenth degree in terms of subject matter and violence, and that will hold true for its upcoming spin-off — "Gen V."

While some "Boys" characters will factor into "Gen V," the story will mostly follow brand new supes, such as Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), who has the power of blood-bending. But while the characters and setting will differ, the tone will be the same. That's fully evident from the "Gen V" trailer, which contains gore, profanity, and references to making people's genitalia explode. While many superhero films and TV shows stay in PG-13 territory, "The Boys" has always pushed the limits of good taste, so it goes without saying that young kids should not watch "Gen V."

Executive producer Seth Rogen didn't hold back in describing the mayhem in an interview with Empire, "In general, if you're making an R-rated thing, they let you do whatever the f*** you want, unless there's some real legal thing that they think you might be bumping against." College is already synonymous with partying and excess, so throwing the sensibilities of "The Boys" into the mix promises that "Gen V" will be one wild ride (albeit one kids shouldn't go on).

The following contains reference to violence against children.

Parents with kids who are into superheroes likely know all too well at this point not to let them watch "The Boys." The violence is next level, with people dying in over-the-top, gory ways. That's not even getting into the language and sexual content. "Gen V" is bound to have all of this and more, meaning parents need to be mindful not to let their kids watch, but even parents may want to brace themselves for the subject matter of the spin-off. 

It looks like much of "Gen V" will take place at Godolkin University, with young supes learning to harness their powers. The characters are primarily college-aged and pretty young, so there may be added discomfort watching these young adults get injured and die in increasingly horrific ways. Given national conversations around school violence, mainly as it pertains to guns, some parents may be uneasy watching a show where young people die in bloody fashion in a school setting. 

And things will get violent quickly, as the young supes will compete in a series of games to determine dominance, basically making it like "The Hunger Games" where the violence is explicit. Parents may have a hard time watching it, and that goes double for their teens, where they may have to watch people who look like their peers meet violent ends. "The Boys" and "Gen V" aren't like other superhero projects. Extreme violence is part of the subversion these shows go after, so parents should take heed so that young kids aren't exposed to something they shouldn't see.