'The Boys' star Dominique McElligott RETIRES from acting; actress turned down Queen Maeve return in finale

Dominique McElligott, best known for playing Queen Maeve in the hit series 'The Boys', has not only hung up her superhero costume but has also stepped away from acting.After 'The Boys' came to an end this week, showrunner Eric Kripke made the surprise revelation behind the character's absence in the finale. Kripke revealed in an interview with TV Insider published Wednesday that McElligott was in fact approached to come back as her character in a brief appearance; however, she declined the invitation.“Dom and I email a couple of times every six to eight months or so, and she checked in on me after the Palisades fires,” Kripke told the outlet. “We throw each other emails, and I said very early because I wanted to know whether we were building for it, ‘Would you be open to coming back for a day? And here are the dates.’”However, McElligott turned down the offer. “It was very pleasant and respectful,” Kripke said and went on to explain, “She just said, ‘I've kind of retired from acting. [I'm not] really acting anymore, and I’m busy those dates anyway.’”The showrunner insisted that there was no bad blood, saying, "It was a very pleasant, non-controversial moment, you know?"While Queen Maeve has not physically appeared on the series since the season three finale in 2022, her character continued to feature in recaps, montages and other references throughout subsequent seasons. She made her last official appearance during the explosive season three finale, where the superhero sacrifices herself in a battle against Jensen Ackles’s Soldier Boy in a final bid to protect the others. While the confrontation left her depowered, effectively marking the end of her superhero journey, the door was left open for her possible return.