Gen V viewers were in for a surprise when Patrick Schwarzenegger‘s Golden Boy didn’t appear in season 2 — but what was the reason for the absence?
A spinoff of The Boys, Prime Video’s Gen V follows a group of college students who try to uncover the mystery surrounding a virus that can kill superheroes. Season 1 introduced Us to characters played by Jaz Sinclair, Chance Perdomo, Lizzie Broadway, Maddie Phillips, London Thor, Derek Luh, Asa Germann and more.
Schwarzenegger, 32, meanwhile, played Golden Boy a.k.a. Luke Riordan, who died in the series premiere but remained a consistent presence through flashbacks and a visual manifestation for his brother Sam (Germann).
The actor was nowhere to be found in season 2, which premiered on Wednesday, September 17. Schwarzenegger previously teased that another project prevented him from being able to return to the Prime Video series.
“No, I wish [I was in Gen V season 2], but I was, we were actually filming White Lotus at the same time that they were filming Gen V,” Schwarzenegger told Screen Rant in February. “It didn’t work out [for season 2 of Gen V]. But maybe season 3 or some other time.”
That same month, Schwarzenegger acknowledged that his character wasn’t meant to stick around for long.
“‘[During my audition the creators told me], ‘Oh, by the way we’re going to kill you at the end of the first episode,’” Schwarzenegger recalled on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in February. “I was like, ‘Ok great, so it’s a one-episode arc?’ and they’re like, ‘Well, we might bring the character back in certain scenes and certain this and this.’”
Schwarzenegger isn’t the only OG cast member who didn’t appear in season 2. Perdomo, who played Andre, died in a motorcycle accident at age 27 in March 2024. The cast was days away from their first table read for season 2 when news broke about Perdomo’s death.
“We can’t quite wrap our heads around this. For those of us who knew him and worked with him, Chance was always charming and smiling, an enthusiastic force of nature, an incredibly talented performer, and more than anything else, just a very kind, lovely person,” the Gen V producers said in a statement at the time. “Even writing about him in the past tense doesn’t make sense. We are so sorry for Chance’s family, and we are grieving the loss of our friend and colleague. Hug your loved ones tonight.”
Two months later, it was confirmed how the show would address Perdomo’s death.
“As we continue to navigate the tragic loss of Chance Perdomo, everyone at Gen V is determined to find the best way to pay respect to his memory,” read a post from the producers. “We won’t be recasting the role, because no one can replace Chance. Instead, we have been taking the time and space to recraft our season 2 storylines as we begin production in May. We will honor Chance and his legacy this season.”
Gen V airs Wednesdays on Prime Video.
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