Simon Pegg The Boys

In the comic book ‘The Boys’, by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the main character of Wee Hughie (or Hughie Campbell) was clearly meant to be British actor Simon Pegg, known for the ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Mission: Impossible’ movies as well as the Cornetto Trilogy– ‘Shaun of the Dead’, ‘Hot Fuzz’ and ‘The World’s End’.  In 2015, director Adam McKay was signed on to direct a film based on ‘The Boys’ and made it known that he was hoping to cast Pegg, but unfortunately, the project never came to fruition.  Instead, Amazon is adapting the comics as a TV series and Pegg will pop up on it.

Pegg made a surprise appearance at ‘The Boys’ panel at New York Comic Con, where it was announced that he would portray the father of Wee Hughie, who will be played by Jack Quaid (the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan).  Artist Robertson was also present, as was executive producer Eric Kripke,  Pegg’s ‘Star Trek’ costar Karl Urban (who plays Billy Butcher on the series), Laz Alonso (Mother’s Milk), Karen Fukuhara (The Female), Antony Starr (Homelander), Erin Moriarty (Starlight) and Chace Crawford (The Deep).

Following the announcement that Pegg would appear as Hughie’s father, the show shared this comedic “family portrait” of the duo:

In addition to Kripke, ‘The Boys’ is also executive produced by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogan.  The series also stars Jennifer Esposito (as Susan Raynor), Tomer Kapon (Frenchie), Dominique McElligott (Queen Maeve), Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir), Elisabeth Shue (Madelyn Stillwell), and Jessie T. Usher (A-Train).  Dan Trachtenberg directed the pilot episode.  The first season consists of eight episodes.

In a world where superheroes embrace the darker side of their massive celebrity and fame, THE BOYS centers on a group of vigilantes known informally as “The Boys,” who set out to take down corrupt superheroes with no more than their blue-collar grit and a willingness to fight dirty. THE BOYS is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes – who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods – abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven,” and Vought – the multi-billion dollar conglomerate that manages these superheroes. THE BOYS is scheduled for a 2019 release.

“The world now reflects the world of The Boys way more than when Garth wrote it,” Kripke stated, referring to the series as “most topical show on television.”

Source: Collider