It hasn’t been terribly long since Supernatural wrapped up its ridiculously long tenure on the CW, and it didn’t take much time for the network to greenlight a prequel focused on Sam and Dean’s monster-hunting parents. The Winchesters intends to wind back the clock and shine a focus on John and Mary’s tumultuous life saving people, hunting things, and eventually raising a family. But according to Jensen Ackles, things won’t be quite as simple as the show’s logline make it out to be.
In a recent interview with TVLine, the former Dean Winchester (and executive producer) talked about how the prequel will prove itself as worthy of continuing the franchise, something the CW has struggled with over the years. He credits former Supernatural writer and fellow Winchesters EP Robbie Thompson with helping him get onboard with this new show. “If we connect dots with a simple, straight line, that’s not entertaining, that’s boring,” Ackles admitted. “If we connect those dots in a much crazier, wild Supernatural way, then we’ve got a show.” That “wild Supernatural way” involves plenty of new faces for the titular Winchesters to work with and against in their efforts to rid the world of monsters.
The prequel will hit the big moments that were mentioned throughout Supernatural, but the path to those “waypoints,” as he called them, won’t be as simple as point A to point B. “It’s not the sugar coated version of how mum and dad met, this is what really happened.” Ackles added that those waypoints will have slight variances that offer up a surprise for fans. As an example, he teased how the show would explain how John (played in the prequel by Drake Rodger) seemingly didn’t know about the existence of demons and monsters until the death of his wife Mary (Meg Donnelly), who was born into the hunter lifestyle. “We’ve got a massive fix for that,” he said. “We get to that point, and we play the ‘oooh, that’s why’ kind of thing.”
Currently, The Winchesters is filming the show’s pilot, and should it go to series, Ackles will serve as the show’s narrator. Given how long the primary series lasted, maybe The CW will give Winchesters 20 seasons just for laughs…assuming they’re around for another 20 years, that is.