Now that The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke has confirmed why Dominique McElligott isn’t in the season five finale, an old interview has resurfaced and it explains why we were all hoping to see Queen Maeve. Maeve seemingly died at the end of The Boys season three in her fight with Soldier Boy, but right at the end it’s revealed that she survived and was depowered in the blast. She went into hiding with her girlfriend Elena, and that’s the last we ever saw of her. Everyone assumed McElligott would reprise her role if only for a cameo in the finale, especially after Sage’s Queen Maeve notebook made a reappearance. But that’s not the only reason. Eric Kripke promised Queen Maeve would be back Credit: Prime Video Back in 2022, following the season three finale, Kripke told TVLine, “[Maeve and Dominique are] going to definitely take a break… but the series will definitely not end without seeing Maeve again.” He also spoke about why they ended her story in that way, saying, “At no point did I ever consider killing Maeve, from the very, very beginning [of the series]. “We were intentionally building to a happy ending for her, always, for a lot of reasons. One, she deserved it. Believe it or not, The Boys is a moral universe, and when you make the right choices, you get rewarded, and she deserved a happy ending with Elena.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dominique McElligott (@dominique.mcelligott) Kripke added, “I am not going to fall into the trope of killing off gay characters. I’m aware of it, [and] I agree with the criticism of it. I’m not going to do that as well. “And I’ll admit that I think we’re playing around a little with that trope by letting people think she’s dead, and they’re going to shout at their TV and be really upset by it. “But then [we] reveal she’s actually going to go have a nice, power-free life with her girlfriend. So hopefully that will take the sting off it.” He went on to say, “A lot of the big story is Annie finally stepping up and emerging as the hero she needs to be, and in classic [story] structure, it’s time for her mentor and protector to go and let her stand on her own two feet.” The interview has resurfaced amid Maeve not returning in season five, with fans also pointing out that Maeve made an appearance in an episode recap. Queen Maeve did not appear in #TheBoys series finale Despite Eric Kripke stating she will before the series ends. “We definitely won't reach the end of the series without seeing Maeve again…but the series will definitely not end without seeing Maeve again," pic.twitter.com/LA7u9iSP4B — The Boys Out of Context Clips (@TheBoysOOCC) May 20, 2026 “They showed her in the ‘Previously On’-sequence,” wrote one fan on X. “I thought that would be relevant. And then it wasn’t.” Another quipped, “Well he didn’t lie technically she was in the final season.. as a drawing.” A third added, “He was talking about Sage’s f**king journal I guess.” Despite sparking plenty of rumours, the real reason McElligott didn’t reprise her role in the final showdown against Homelander is not dramatic in the slightest. So, why exactly didn’t Dominique McElligott return in The Boys season 5? Credit: Prime Video Yes, Kripke said she would be back, but in a new interview post-finale, the showrunner explained that the team tried to make it happen – however, McElligott has retired from acting. “I would have loved to have had Maeve,” he told Gold Derby. “I was in conversation with Dom. We still email once in a while. She’s mostly retired from acting, and her schedule didn’t work out. “It was all a very friendly, non-controversial thing. I was like, ‘If we wrote it, would you do it?’ And she’s like, ‘I’m kind of out of it, and I’m busy, and unfortunately I can’t, but send everyone my love.’ That was sort of it.” Despite the Queen Maeve-shaped hole, The Boys season five still found a way to honour the character through a conversation between Annie and Marie. “Never meet your heroes. She was bitter, she was checked out. She gave away so many parts of herself, there was nothing left,” Annie says. “I swore to myself I would never let that happen to me, but it did.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Showmasters Events (@showmasters_events) McElligott’s last acting gig was The Boys, although she still does comic con appearances from time-to-time, having attended the London Film & Comic Con last year. For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured images credit: Prime Video Post navigation Next storyPrevious story
