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Supernatural ended in 2020. The next year, Jensen Ackles went into development on a prequel for The CW about Sam and Dean Winchester’s parents. Soon, Ackles will appear on The Boys Season 3 as the new character Soldier Boy. Ackles said the Supernatural prequel directly led to his new role. 

Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy holds his shield in uniform
Jensen Ackles | Amazon Studios

Ackles was a guest on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast that aired Jan. 18, but was recorded in October 2021. In discussing his new role on The Boys Season 3, Ackles explained how the Supernatural prequel helped get him the role.

Jensen Ackles had to call ‘The Boys’ showrunner about his ‘Supernatural’ prequel

Eric Kripke created Supernatural, but left after season 5. Kripke is also the showrunner of The Boys. So, Ackles had to get Kripke’s permission to spin off his Supernatural prequel anyway. It just so happened that Kripke was developing The Boys Season 3 at the time. 

“I was a fan of the show before we even talked about me coming on,” Ackles said on Inside of You. “In fact, the whole way that happened was I was calling Eric Kripke… to talk to him about The Winchesters because he owns that IP because he created those characters. So I literally had to call him and get him to sign off. Now they kicked it over to business affairs at Warner Brothers and his lawyers. They got together and did their thing but I needed to get Kripke to sign off on us using those characters for this prequel.”

After dealing with ‘Supernatural’ prequel business, ‘The Boys’ Season 3 came calling 

With Supernatural prequel business out of the way, Ackles wanted a role he could play. He’s producing the Winchesters spinoff but it will take place before Dean Winchester was born. 

“I was like, ‘I’m going to be unemployed pretty soon. So whenever you’re ready for me to come on over to The Boys, just let me know,’” Ackles said. “He was like, ‘Hey man, you wanna come over to The Boys, I’ll write you a part. I’ve got no problem with that.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, dude, I’d love to come over, I love that show.’”

Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy role got bigger 

Ackles said Kripke began suggesting a smaller role on The Boys Season 3. Then he realized Ackles would be right for Soldier Boy.

“He goes, ‘Hang on, I don’t know if I want to bring you in just for a bit part. There’s another role. I’ll tell you what, I’m going to send you over some material, take a look at it, let’s talk tomorrow,’” Ackles said. “So he sends me over Soldier Boy. I read this material and I’m like, ‘Yes! Yes! Absolutely. Who do I have to kill?’”

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As it turned out, Ackles did have to prove himself to Sony, the studio that produces The Boys. After four audition tapes, Ackles landed the role. He told Rosenbaum what to expect.

“He’s a grandpa,” Ackles said. “He’s from the ‘40s. Like he fought in World War II and he’s just this curmudgeon, bigoted ***hole. He doesn’t age so he’s this 40-year-old superhero who’s really 80 years old or 90 years old. There’s just so much material there and you’ll see what I mean when you see the show. He has a taste for people that were of his era.”

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