Why is Patrick Schwarzenegger missing in “Gen V” season 2?

Patrick Schwarzenegger made his debut as a Golden Boy in Gen V Season 1, but he has no Golden Returns in Gen V Season 2.

The boys are spin-offs around a mystery surrounding a virus that could kill a superhero, or a group of super-powerful college students who surround “soup.” Gen V Season 1 is a star like Jaz Sinclair, resizing Emma Year, aka Little Cricket, as bloody Marie Marrow, electromagnetically driven Andre Anderson, and Chance Perdomo as Lizze Broadway.

Schwarzenegger played the seemingly sociable yet mentally tortured golden boy, aka Luke Riordan, in episode 1 of Gen V, but his character died at the end of the episode. The White Lotus actor’s character may have left the show early, but he continued to appear in the season finale as a flashback and as a conscience of his brother Sam Riordan (Asa German).

Schwarzenegger has not renewed his role in season 2, but he has previously been talked about knowing that his character has a limited presence on the show.

During an audition for Gen V, the show’s creator told Schwarzenegger, “Yeah, I’m trying to kill you at the end of the first episode.” And they said, “Well, we might just undo the characters in certain scenes.”

So why isn’t there a Patrick Schwarzenegger from Gen V Season 2? Here’s what you need to know about his character’s absence and whether he’ll return to Gen V.

Why isn’t there a Patrick Schwarzenegger from Gen V Season 2?

Schwarzenegger’s character Golden Boy passed away at the end of the first episode, but continued to appear in the series via flashbacks, pre-recorded videos and hallucinations of his younger brother Sam. In the Gen v Season 1 finale, Golden Boy even tries to stop Sam from killing humans after Sam is convinced that all humans are bad and that the soup is dead.

It seems even more likely that Sam will need the guidance of his brothers, as he joined the Human-bound Homelander (Antony Star) band at the end of Boys Season 4. However, as Schwarzenegger won’t return to season 2 of Gen V, we find out that Sam will have to wait.

Schwarzenegger revealed in February 2025 that the reason he won’t return was due to conflict scheduling.

“No, I hope I was in Gen V season 2, but I was actually filming the White Lotus as well as filming the Gen V,” Schwarzenegger told Screen Rant.

What did Patrick Schwarzenegger say about Gen V?

Schwarzenegger had something to do with the boy’s universe long before the show hit the small screen. The actor first auditioned for the role of Homelander before his 2019 Boys debut.

It was his old audition that urged the casting director to call him back for his role in the spinoff.

“When they were doing Gen V Spinoff, they told me.

He continued. “He was just in some kind of position as he would be the miniature version of this kind of Homelander, but he honestly seemed like a really good kid and a really nice and real person.

Can Patrick Schwarzenegger recreate his role in Gen V season 3?

If Gen V has season 3, it appears that both Schwarzenegger and the creators of the show are open on Golden Boy’s return. Schwarzenegger can appear via flashbacks or as the conscience of Sam and ex-girlfriend Kate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips).

In the world of superheroes and shapeshift heroes, Golden Boys could even be revived or bred.

“It didn’t work (due to season 2 of Gen V),” Schwarzenegger told Screen Runt. “But maybe season 3 or other times.”