After driving off into the sunset as Supernatural’s Sam Winchester, Jared Padalecki (Supernatural, Gilmore Girls) officially saddles up as Cordell Walker in two trailers released this week for The CW’s reboot Walker. Padalecki takes the reigns from Chuck Norris (Walker, Texas Ranger, The Expendables 2), who starred in Walker, Texas Ranger on CBS from 1993 to 2001 and later reprised the role in the TV-movie Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire, via TVLine.
The two short trailers for Walker focus on Cordell’s fixation with the death of his wife, Emily Walker, played by Padalecki’s real wife, Genevieve Padalecki (Supernatural, Wildfire). Characters such as Walker’s brother Liam, played by Keegan Allen (Pretty Little Liars, Palo Alto), and his new partner Micki, played by Lindsey Morgan (The 100, General Hospital), are briefly introduced in the first trailer released on Monday. On Wednesday, more extended version of the trailer gave a deeper look into Morgan’s character with whom Walker will find “unexpected common ground”, according to Deadline. Kale Culley (Peel, Black-ish) and Violet Brinson (Sharp Objects) will play Walker’s kids, with Molly Hagen (iZombie, Election) and Mitch Pileggi (The X-Files, Stargate: Atlantis) rounding out the cast as the widowed ranger’s parents.
The official synopsis of the series, as provided by Deadline, indicates that Walker’s fascination with his wife’s untimely death goes deeper than grief or guilt. Unfinished business and unanswered questions lead Walker to grow “increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death” (Deadline). Bleeding Cool’s analysis of the trailer was that “there [seem] to be a whole lot of people who appear to have a vested interest in Cordell not looking into her death any further.” This take, further solidified in the second trailer, implies that a suspect in Emily Walker’s death could be someone already in Walker Cordell’s life.
As this newest iteration of Walker takes inspiration from the original 90s series, it’s possible that Emily Walker’s death draws influence from the final moments of Walker, Texas Ranger: Trail by Fire. Assistant district attorney Alex Cahill, played by Sheree J. Wilson (Walker, Texas Ranger, Dallas), was Walker Cordell’s main love interest in the original series and the two eventual married in season seven’s finale entitled “Wedding Bells”. When the pair returned for the 2005 made-for-TV movie Walker, Texas Ranger: Trail By Fire, many were shocked to find that the film ended in a cliff-hanger in which Alex Cahill is left in critical condition after a gunshot wound.
According to Digital Spy, The CW’s Walker will begin with Cordell Walker “returning home after years in deep cover due to the murder of his wife.” Prospective and long-time fans will have to tune in on January 21 to see if the circumstances of Emily Walker’s death, and Cordell Walker’s resulting undercover work, bare any resemblance to the events depicted in Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire.
Both Jared and Genevieve Padalecki expressed their pride in the upcoming drama when sharing the first trailer for Walker on social media on Monday. Shortly after the actors shared the trailer, promotional photos and an official poster for the series were released on the show’s Twitter page. When Wednesday’s extended trailer dropped, Padalecki quipped on Twitter that she warned her husband she would haunt him on the day they got married, much in the manner her character can be seen doing in the newest trailer.
A more extended look into the characters and world of The CW’s reimagined Walker can be expected as the January 21 premiere date draws near.