‘The Winchesters’ Is Filming a ‘Supernatural’ Cameo This Week, Plans for Jensen Ackles Too
The CW is returning to the world of Supernatural. The Winchesters tells the story of how John Winchester (Drake Rodger) met Mary Campbell (Meg Donnelly). They would become Sam and Dean (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles)’s parents and would be pivotal to their story, which ultimately ran for 15 seasons. The first season of The Winchesters is filming a Supernatural cameo already, and more to come.
The Winchesters writer and producer Robbie Thompson was on a Zoom panel on Oct. 4 with cast members and Ackles. Thompson shared how quickly they’re including Supernatural cast members in The Winchesters, along with some future plans. The Winchesters premieres Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. on The CW.
‘The Winchesters’ Season 1 will include more than 1 ‘Supernatural’ cameo
By the time Supernatural began, Jeffrey Dean Morgan played John Winchester and Samantha Smith played the late Mary. The Winchesters takes place in the ‘70s, hence Rodger and Donnelly play the characters in that era. But, some of the Supernatural characters were around in the ‘70s. Thompson teased he’s already filming with some of those actors in the first season.
“I don’t think I can spoil exactly who but we have some very familiar faces that are going to be coming up in an episode that we’re going to shoot in a couple of days,” Thompson said. “And then some more after that and then some more after that.”
‘The Winchesters’ wants Jensen Ackles to appear on screen more
Ackles co-created The Winchesters with his wife, Daneel. He narrates the show and appears in the pilot to give it that extra Supernatural connection. But Thompson put Ackles on the spot to show up more often.
“Hopefully someone that’s on this Zoom as well at a certain point,” Thompson said. “I’m looking at you, it’s Ackles. So yeah, we have plans for that.”
New actors can play some young ‘Supernatural’ characters
Thompson also suggested another way The Winchesters can reinvent some of the Supernatural characters. Just like Rodger and Donnelly play John and Mary, The Winchesters can recast younger versions of other characters. Of course, some supernatural entities don’t age so the same actors can play them. But Thompson has plans for all kinds of permutations.
“And we often have plans not just to bring back some of our familiar faces but younger versions of the characters that maybe we haven’t seen yet,” Thompson said.
All of this should make Supernatural fans very happy about The Winchesters. It’s not just a Supernatural prequel. It can be an organic spinoff that intersects with some familiar cast members like Ackles, or reveal some untold backstory beyond the Winchesters themselves. And all of this in season 1. They won’t make you wait for the big Supernatural connections.
