‘Gen V’ season 2 appoints new dean after season 1 death

Godolkin University has a new dean following the blood-soaked demise of its last one.

Midnight Mass standout Hamish Linklater joins the cast of Gen V season 2 in the role of Cipher, who comes in as the replacement for Shelley Conn’s Dean Indira Shetty, Entertainment Weekly has learned.

It’s unclear if there’s a comic book equivalent to the Cipher character from The Boys source material, but the figure is described as “charismatic and charming.” The description continues, “Trained as a scientist, he’s politically brilliant, and has the trust and admiration of officials at the highest level.”

Conn’s Shetty met a grim fate in season 1, so Godolkin was in desperate need of new leadership. After Shetty secretly experimented on kidnapped super-powered kids in highly painful ways to create a virus capable of killing supes, Cate Dunlap’s Maddie Phillips used her mind control powers to force the dean to slit her own throat.

Linklater is the first new cast member announced for Gen V season 2. The show underwent major overhauls in light of the death of Chance Perdomo, who starred as one of the main Gen V leads, the magnetic manipulator Andre Anderson.

“It’s been challenging, to say the least,” Gen V executive producer and The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke previously told EW. “We were a week away from shooting when Chance passed away tragically. So we had to almost rethink everything, and in just a matter of weeks. But what I tell people when they say ‘wow, that’s really crazy or difficult’ [is] that pales in comparison to what his friends and loved ones are going through. It’s the least we could do.”

The producers already made clear their intention to not recast the part of Andre. “Instead, we have been taking the time and space to re-craft our season 2 storylines as we begin production in May,” a statement read. “We will honor Chance and his legacy this season.”

Phillips, as well as Jaz Sinclair, Lizze Broadway, Derek Luh, London Thor, and Asa Germann are all expected to return.

In the meantime, The Boys season 4 premieres on Prime Video this June 13.