How Invested Is Jensen Ackles In Supernatural’s Winchesters Prequel? Star Meg Donnelly Shared Her Insight
Fans of the longest-running CW show Supernatural are getting ready for another series that will explore the mythology and origins of not only more otherworldly creatures, but also beloved parental characters John and Mary Winchester. Coming from SPN alum Jensen Ackles, The Winchesters spinoff looks like it’ll be giving viewers a treat, and Meg Donnelly (who will portray Sam and Dean’s mom) shed some heavenly light on just how invested Ackles is with The Winchesters.
The Zombies star spoke to TVLine about working on the upcoming prequel series, and what Jensen Ackles has been like on set, at least in the early days. Meg Donnelly pointed out that he maintained a daily presence when the pilot was being shot, and that he was intrumental in providing her and co-star Drake Rodgers with plenty of Supernatural-based know-how to carry them through. In her words:
He was on set every single day of the pilot, just like being super collaborative, giving us notes, telling us about the universe that we might not know about. So it was really good insight.
It’s definitely encouraging to know Jensen Ackles has been with this new prequel series. Having played Dean Winchester for 15 years, it’s hard to let something like that go, so The Winchesters is the perfect project for him to keep one foot in that universe without being 100% involved throughout the season. Despite the show not strictly following all the same storylines that were already established in Supernatural, fans shouldn’t have to worry about new details being introduced, since Ackles is taking great care in how they get from Point A to Point B.
The Winchesters was first announced to be in development during Summer 2021, though without Ackles’ Supernatural co-star and on-screen brother Jared Padalecki in the loop. While Padalecki did express disappointment on social media that he wasn’t told about the series ahead of time, he and Ackles quickly made up and got right back to being awesomely brotherly. Earlier this year, The Winchesters was ordered to series by The CW, meaning fans will once again have more Supernatural-verse fun to look forward to in primetime after a two-year gap.
It will be interesting to see how the prequel series plays out and how it will mix canon and mythology with new elements. While it wouldn’t be out of the question to expect some guest appearances from fan-favorite characters — Rob Benedict and Richard Speight, Jr., who respectively portrayed God and Gabriel, have previously been open about wanting to reprise their roles — the prequel nature of the narrative might make it a little hard to pull off, timeline-wise.
Meanwhile, Ackles will also be playing a big part on-screen, sorta. Despite Dean being dead in the present, he will be narrating his parents’ love story and whirlwind hunting adventure. Just how that will happen, fans will just have to watch and see. But however it goes, at least we finally get a Supernatural spin-off after the third try, no matter how different it may be.
The Winchesters has yet to have an official premiere date for the fall, but with fall schedules currently being solidified across the broadcast networks, it shouldn’t be long until The CW announces their lineup. While waiting, check out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to see what else to catch in the coming months!
