Showrunner reveals 'real' reason hit Amazon series with 97% on Rotten Tomatoes was axed
Superhero fatigue is everywhere in 2026, but while the Marvel Cinematic Universe is hoping to get back on top with Avengers: Doomsday, and James Gunn continues to tinker away on Warner Bros.' DCU, Amazon has become an unlikely home of more adult superhero outings.
Boasting both the animated franchise of Invincible and the live-action bloodbath of The Boys, the pair sit up there alongside Fallout as three of the streaming service's biggest hitters.
Like Invincible spun off into its own Atom Eve TV series, it was only a matter of time until Amazon was destined to break out of the confines of Vought Tower. Whereas Invincible creator Robert Kirkman has expressed a desire for more spin-offs, it seems we can't move for entries in the world of The Boys. Sadly, one's lifeline was cut tragically short despite it earning rave reviews.
Why was The Boys Presents: Diabolical canceled?
Boasting the honor of being the first-ever spin-off, The Boys Presents: Diabolical was an adult animated anthology that added major names like Michael Cera, Awkwafina, and Don Cheadle to a cast that included the returns of Antony Starr (Homelander), Dominique McElligott (Queen Maeve), and Giancarlo Esposito (Stan Edgar). Even though it scored a whopping 97% critic score, things have gone suspiciously silent on a potential season 2.
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The Boys overseer Eric Kripke put a final nail in the coffin when he told The Wrap in October 2025: "It’s not for lack of us pushing. I think ultimately the viewer numbers weren’t there to justify a second season, sadly.”
Speaking to Polygon, showrunner Simon Racioppa has now suggested an altogether different reason and reiterated that Diabolical isn't technically canceled – it just doesn't seem to be coming back for more.
Racioppa explained: "It was always supposed to be a single one-off. It was basically done. We did it in 10 months, just basically as something to give the fans something to watch because the main series was delayed because of the pandemic and nobody knew what was happening."
What’s next for The Boys universe?
Giving a glimmer of hope that Diabolical season 2 could rise from the ashes, Racioppa added: "We have ideas. There’s certainly lots of space. Like Invincible, there’s lots of great stories to tell in that world, but there’s nothing I can announce about that right now, unfortunately."
While it seems like it's the end of the road for Diabolical, rest assured that the Boysverse is alive and well. Amazon is coming out all guns blazing for the fifth and final season of the main series in April 2026, with fans settling in for a finale that's very different from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic series of the same name.
The main comic series had its own spin-offs like Herogasm and Butcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker, meaning there's no shortage of source material. Still, Amazon's Boysverse has gone in a very different direction.
There's no word on whether there will be a third season of the X-Men-inspired Gen V, but as its second run of episodes boasts an impressive 91% critic score, there are high hopes it could pick up from where The Boys eventually winds up.
Then again, Diabolical's 97% score suggests that even rave reviews can't save a hit series from Amazon's scythe.
If you want even more from The Boys, Jensen Ackles and Aya Cash are due to reprise their fan-favorite roles as Soldier Boy and Liberty/Stormfront for the Vought Rising prequel series that's set in the 1950s.
Finally, The Boys: Mexico is due to take us south of the border for a series that stars Andor's Diego Luna and Werewolf by Night's Gael García Bernal.
Sadly, The Boys Presents: Diabolical wasn't long for this world. RIP, we hardly knew ye.