'The Boys' season 4 casts Hughie's absentee mom for some family drama (original) (raw)
Simon Pegg returns as Hughie's dad as the R-rated superhero satire adds another Supernatural vet.
Published on December 1, 2022 01:00PM EST
The Boys season 4 is orchestrating a major, sure-to-be tumultuous family reunion.
The R-rated Amazon superhero drama, led by showrunner Eric Kripke, has cast Rosemarie DeWitt (The Estate, The Staircase) to play the absent mother of Jack Quaid's Hughie Campbell, the streamer announced Thursday.
It was long assumed that Hughie's mom had died, leaving Simon Pegg's Hugh Campbell, Sr. a single father. However, the season 2 finale revealed that she deserted them when Hughie was 6 years old.
Hughie's mom has been found: 'The Boys' season 4 casts Rosemarie DeWitt. Amazon Prime (2)
The way Hughie tells it in that episode, "It was like some silent alarm went off, and she was like, 'F--- them, time to go!'" All she seemed to leave for Hughie was a love of Billy Joel and a determination to be nothing like her.
Quaid unpacked that season 2 finale moment in a 2020 conversation with EW. "He has the need to defend and protect and nurture those around him that he really cares about. He's desperate to keep his family in tact," he said of Hughie. "The reason why he gloms onto people is because his mom left him. He never wants to do that to anyone ever again, and it comes out in interesting ways, ways that could be considered a little bit codependent, a little destructive in a way. But I think he's starting to pull himself out of that rut at the end of the season."
A popular fan theory is that Hughie's mom is actually a supe and she may have left to protect her son, but the true nature remains a mystery... for now.
L to R: Simon Pegg, Rob Benedict, Elliot Knight. Dave Willis; Farrah Aviva; Ryan Pfluger
Pegg's Hugh will also return for the coming fourth season, which is still filming in Toronto. He appeared briefly in this year's season 3 through a FaceTime conversation with Hughie.
Two more names were announced in the cast, though their roles remain under wraps: Rob Benedict, another veteran of Supernatural who played God in the final season, and Elliot Knight, known for Animal Kingdom and playing Gaz in the video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.
Amazon specified that Knight has a recurring role in season 4.
Previously cast are Susan Heyward and Valorie Curry as supes Sister Sage and Firecracker, Cameron Crovetti in the more involved role of Homelander's son Ryan, and long-time The Boys super fan Jeffrey Dean Morgan in an undisclosed part.
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