The Amazon Prime hit The Boys is well-known not only for bringing some fresh material to the superhero genre but also for mocking tropes in superhero movies as well as the companies who make them. The show's latest target is none other than Sony and their hilariously misguided attempts to market the critically-panned and commercially-flopped Morbius into a hit.
For those who may not be in the know, Sony recently re-released Morbius after the badly-received superhero movie developed a cult following based on the memes that the film unintentionally created. Much like when the film was originally released, that idea also badly blew up in Sony's face, as hardly any of the film's fans - who watch the film ironically - went to theaters to see it again.
In light of this, Vought International tweeted out that they would be re-releasing the fictional film Dawn of the Seven, even though the movie was still in theaters in The Boys universe. In the tweet, they also included that using the code "It's Maevin' Time!" would help fans get a discount on the re-release, mocking the Morbius internet meme, "It's Morbin' Time!" that fans would satirically say while watching the film. The tweet said, "#DawnOfTheSeven is back! Despite still being in theaters, we heard all of your tweets and will be re-releasing the film this week! Don’t miss your chance to re-live all the action: use code ITS-MAEVIN-TIME to get a discount on your second ticket until June 30."
The Boys is known for doing this both in and outside the show. In the second episode of season 3, they made fun of Disney for how fake they are when they try to be "all-inclusive" politically through Vought's on-the-nose version of Disneyland called "Voughtland." In Voughtland, they have an attraction called "Brave Maeve's Inclusive Kingdom" featuring "BLM BLTs," "Woke Wok," "LGBTurkey Legs," and "Rainbow Pops." Through this, they aren't mocking that political ideology as much as they are mocking how Disney panders to it for good PR more than anything else.
So it fits that The Boys would mock Sony for trying to capitalize on the popularity Morbius inadvertently received because of how poorly made the film was only for that to backfire on them too. One could argue that it's low-hanging fruit to make fun of Sony since they have shown countless times already that they don't know what they're doing when it comes to making and marketing their blockbuster films to the point where they've made themselves the butt of the joke. However, perhaps doing this will finally get Sony to realize that they need to change up their strategy a bit because what they're doing isn't working.
Instances like these show that The Boys can sometimes be like if the superhero genre met South Park. Granted, South Park is pure episodic satire and nothing else while The Boys has an overarching story to tell about power and corruption. Nonetheless, if the show has the chance to make fun of superhero cliches and the faults of companies that produce superhero flicks, they will take it every time. Better yet, much like South Park, they won't pull any punches when they do. This tweet by Vought International is a pretty transparent shot at Sony's ineptitude as a company. It's far from the first shot the show has taken at a film studio, and it definitely won't be the last.
The Boys season 3 can currently be streamed on Amazon Prime.
Source: Vought International/Twitter