Throughout its time on Prime Video, “The Boys” has been as irreverent as a superhero show can possibly be, pushing its tone to extremes without fully abandoning the genre altogether. That approach was established immediately in Season 1, Episode 1, titled “The Name of the Game,” an episode that introduced viewers to the show’s brutal worldview, making it clear it would not be following Marvel or DC’s rules. What’s less widely known is that the series premiere wasn’t originally supposed to be directed by Dan Trachtenberg at all. Instead, early plans called for Seth Rogen (alongside producing partner Evan Goldberg) to helm the episode himself.
At that time, Trachtenberg was primarily known for the 2016 thriller “10 Cloverfield Lane” and the “Black Mirror” episode “Playtest.” Despite being relatively untested in television, he ultimately directed the first episode of “The Boys,” setting its identity with numerous brutalities, pitch-black satire, and a chaotic introduction to the series’ opposing factions. The episode follows Hughie (Jack Quaid) as he’s pulled into Billy Butcher’s (Karl Urban) crusade against the erratic Homelander (Antony Starr), the cocky A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), and the rest of Vought International’s corporate-sanctioned superhero team, The Seven.
Trachtenberg, of course, proved to be a great choice. He has since gone on to revitalize “The Predator” franchise and direct an episode of “Stranger Things” Season 5. Still, the fact that “The Boys” nearly had a different director behind its pivotal first episode remains a compelling what-if, particularly considering how much the premiere defined the show’s tone from the jump.
Why Seth Rogen didn’t direct The Boys, despite early plans
Seth Rogen didn’t bow out of directing “The Boys” series premiere because he doubted his abilities behind the camera. By the time “The Name of the Game” premiered in 2019, he had already directed the films “This Is The End” (2013) and “The Interview” (2014), along with several TV projects — most notably four episodes of another Garth Ennis adaptation, “Preacher.” The reason Rogen and Goldberg stepped back from directing the episode was simply a matter of scheduling. Rogen, a highly in-demand actor and producer, routinely juggles multiple projects in any given year. Despite not directing the premiere, both he and Goldberg still hold executive producer credits on “The Boys.”
The fact that Rogen and Goldberg once had a chance to wear multiple hats on “The Boys” remains a fascinating idea, particularly given their long track record working together behind the scenes. When Trachtenberg was brought on to direct the premiere, the pair explained why he felt like the right fit. “Dan’s a massive fan of [Ennis and Darick Robertson’s ‘The Boys’] comic like us, and we’re massive fans of his, so we’re excited to have his more talented skill set brought to the show,” Rogen and Goldberg told Deadline when Trachtenberg’s arrival was announced in 2018.
Most recently, the duo’s show “The Studio” swept the 2025 Emmys, with Goldberg winning three awards and Rogen four. After finding awards success with a series that blends industry satire and absurdity, the idea of Rogen and Goldberg stepping into the director’s chair for an episode or two in the fifth and final season of “The Boys” isn’t hard to picture — though if such plans exist, Vought is keeping them tightly under wraps.