Jensen Ackles is heading to the world of superheroes for his first major role following his long run on The CW's Supernatural. Ackles has been cast in The Boys season 3. The actor will be joining the hit series in its third season on Amazon, playing the role of Soldier Boy. Ackles has spent more than 15 years playing Dean Winchester on Supernatural. But with the show ending its run, he now has a chance to branch out.

The announcement was made by Jensen Ackles on Instagram. The actor silently pondered his next career move before catching a The Boys comic. After flipping through the pages, a music cue kicks in that signals who the actor will be playing in the upcoming season. Ackles captioned the video with the following.

"I keep wondering what I'll do....when Supernatural finally ends this year. Then it hit me."

Soldier Boy, in the universe of the show and comic, is the original Superhero. After Soldier Boy fought in World War II, he became the first super celebrity, ultimately going on to become a mainstay of American culture for decades. There are some parallels between Solider Boy and Marvel's Captain America, at least on the surface. Showrunner and Executive Producer Eric Kripke had this to say in a statement.

"When I was a child, I had a crazy, impossible dream, to provide Jensen Ackles with gainful employment. I'm happy to say that dream has come true. Jensen is an amazing actor, an even better person, smells like warm chocolate chip cookies, and I consider him a brother. As Soldier Boy, the very first Superhero, he'll bring so much humor, pathos, and danger to the role. I can't wait to be on set with him again, and bring a bit of Supernatural to The Boys."

The Boys is based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. Season 1 proved to be hugely successful for Amazon. Ahead of the season 2 premiere, it was announced at this year's Comic-Con@Home that season 3 is already in the works. The cast for the series includes Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Kapon, Karen Fukuhara, Aya Cash and Nathan Mitchell.

Some of Jensen Ackles' previous credits include My Bloody Valentine, Dark Angel and Smallville. The Boys was developed by Eric Kripke, who previously worked on Supernatural. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver, who previously worked together on AMC's Preacher, are also on board as executive producers. There is no word currently on how soon production will begin on season 3. However, that is largely dependant on outside factors beyond the studio's control.

The Boys season 2 will premiere with the first three episodes on Friday, September 4. New episodes will be available each Friday following, with the season finale set for October 9. Be sure to check out the announcement from Jensen Ackles' Instagram.