On Thursday evening, Deadline announced that The CW has given script commitment to Supernatural prequel series The Winchesters from Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, My Bloody Valentine) and Danneel Ackles’ (Friends with Benefits, Ten Inch Hero) Chaos Machine Productions. When Ackles shared the news on Twitter his on-screen brother for 15 seasons, Jared Padalecki (Supernatural, Gilmore Girls) had some choice words on the matter.
“Wish I heard about this some way other than Twitter,” Padalecki wrote on Twitter. “I’m excited to watch, but bummed that Sam Winchester had no involvement whatsoever.”
Deadline has heralded Supernatural as “one of the most important series in the history of the CW,” and the cast’s familial relationship is one of the components that kept fans engaged for decade and a half. Only a few months after the series’ finale, Padalecki was already discussing a reunion with Ackles in his new The CW series Walker, meanwhile Ackles himself had joined The Boys, continuing his relationship with Supernatural creator Eric Kripke (Timeless, The House with Clock in Its Walls). The often-touted notion of #SPNFamily led to an outpour of confusion when Padalecki shared his initial reaction to spin-off The Winchesters.
Misha Collins (Girl, Interrupted, 24), Supernatural’s longest-running actor aside from Ackles and Padalecki, shared support for The Winchesters on Twitter alongside a tongue-and-cheek pitch for his character Castiel to be included. The contrasting reactions from Supernatural stars led fans to wonder whether Padalecki might have been joking in his initial tweet about the spin-off series, but the actor clarified that this was not the case.
“It’s not.” Padalecki responded to a fan on Twitter asking whether his first trick was a joke. “This is the first I’ve heard about it. I’m gutted.”
While this Twitter interaction left Supernatural fans tense and slightly keyed-up, Padalecki encourage fans not to harass anyone involved in The Winchesters in follow-up tweet. Early Friday afternoon, the Winchester brothers eventual shared that they had talked to one another and buried the hatchet.
“We’ve travelled a lot of roads together, and sometimes those damn roads have bumps” Padalecki shared of his Friday phone call with Ackles, via Twitter. “Bumps don’t stop us. Once brothers, always brothers.” Ackles quote-tweeted Padalecki, adding: “you’re still my brother. I miss you, pal.”
Initial turbulence aside, some Supernatural fans are still split on the notion of a spin-off focusing on Sam and Dean Winchester’s parents. While the characters of John and Mary Winchester – portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead, Watchmen) and Samantha Smith (Transformers) – played a crucial role in Supernatural’s early years, the characters are not quite fan favorites.
However fans may feel, Ackles himself has proven extremely interested in his character’s parents, telling Deadline that “I always felt like my character, Dean, would have wanted to know more about his parents’ relationship and how it came to be. So I love the thought of having him take us on this journey.” Ackles will be guiding this doomed love story from more than just a production angle, as he is set to narrate the series as Dean Winchester.
As Padalecki stated on Twitter, after speaking with Ackles, “the show is early in the process with miles to go.” The CW has currently only given the series a script commitment and struggled getting Supernatural spin-offs Wayward Sisters and Bloodlines off the ground in the past. Ackles’ direct involvement with The Winchesters sets the series apart from previous Supernatural spin-off attempts and, perhaps as the series enters its development process, Padalecki will be invited into the fold as well.
Even though Supernatural ended in fall 2020 – with a finale that did not leave fans fully satisfied – Friday made it clear that seeing the Winchester boys fight can still rattle fans in a powerful way.