'The Boys' showrunner on how they pulled off that surprise 'Dawn of the Seven' cameo in Season 3

Mere weeks after her unexpected Marvel debut as Clea in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Oscar-winner Charlize Theron once again surprised comic book fans with a guest appearance in the Season 3 premiere of The Boys. The hit show's long-awaited return kicks off with the premiere of the Zack Snyder-inspired Dawn of the Seven, a Vought Studios production in which the titular team of Supes works to bring down Stormfront (played in this Hollywood-ized reimagining by Theron), who was turned into the central villain following the Season 2 revelations about her Nazi ties and bigoted worldview.

"Any cameo that shows up on the show adheres to a really rigorous and selective process of whoever returns Seth Rogen’s calls," showrunner Eric Kripke tells SYFY WIRE. Rogen, who is an executive producer on the Amazon series, starred alongside Theron in 2019's Long Shot. "Charlize was a champion," Kripke adds. "I’m sure she said 'yes,' doing a favor for a friend ... I’m sure he pitched it as a really short cameo and then the next call is like, ‘So come into wardrobe, we have to design your super-suit and [you need to] show up on set. You have to work all day in the hot sun.’ I’m sure Seth owes her a lot right now."

Despite the over-the-top absurdity of a scene that required Theron to utter terms like "Fourth Reich" and "Aryan Kindersoldaten," the celebrated actress didn't flinch. "I don’t know if you’ve heard, but she’s a pretty good actor and the amount that she committed to the dumbest dialogue that has ever been written," Kripke continues. "She delivers it so well. She cares so much, she’s so sincere and she’s so f—ing funny. Obviously, she’s in comedies, but watching her work, you’re really struck by what a sharp comic actress she can be on top of everything else."

The official Vought International Twitter account ramped up excitement for Dawn of the Seven in late May by poking fun at the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut campaign that allowed Zack Snyder to realize his 4-hour cut of Justice League. To his credit, Snyder took the parody in stride, congratulating Dawn director, Adam Bourke (P.J. Byrne) on Twitter. If Ashley (Colby Minifie) is to be believed, however, the final cut of the movie is not Bourke's creative vision, but a host of reshoots overseen by the much more talented Tony Gilroy (acclaimed writer of Michael Clayton and showrunner of the upcoming Andor series on Disney+). Byrne, meanwhile, has kept up the farcical facade of auteur arrogance on social media, calling Dawn of the Seven his "magnum opus."

"We’re in 674,000 theaters across the globe this weekend!" he tweeted. "My 9 hour film has 7 intermissions, so plenty of time to stay fresh and hit the restroom!"

Episodes 1-3 of The Boys' third season are now streaming on Prime Video. The remaining five installments will debut on a weekly basis every Friday.

Looking for more sci-fi TV? Check out shows like Resident Alien, Brave New World, Project Blue Book, Eureka, Heroes, Intergalactic, and more streaming now on Peacock. Looking ahead, SYFY has new series The Ark in the works from original Stargate film writer/producer Dean Devlin, as well as Stargate SG-1 producer Jonathan Glassner.