‘The Winchesters’: ‘Supernatural’ Prequel In The Works At The CW From Jensen & Danneel Ackles
Another year, another attempt to make a ‘Supernatural’ spin-off. The CW has put into development ‘The Winchesters’, a prequel series focused on John and Mary, Sam and Dean’s parents. However, one thing this spin-off has going for it which the previous ones didn’t is that it comes from one of the Winchesters themselves, Jensen Ackles, alongside his wife Danneel.
Before Sam and Dean, there was John and Mary. According to Deadline, who broke the news, The Winchesters’ will be told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), and is the epic, untold love story of how John met Mary and how they put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world.
Jensen and Danneel Ackles executive produce through their company, Chaos Machine Productions, which is under an overall deal with WBTV who made the original series, and will co-produce. The potential series, which has been given a script commitment, will be written and produced by Robbie Thompson, former co-executive producer of ‘Supernatural’.
“After Supernatural wrapped its 15th season, we knew it wasn’t over. Because like we say in the show, ‘nothing ever really ends, does it?’” Jensen Ackles told Deadline. “When Danneel and I formed Chaos Machine Productions, we knew the first story we wanted to tell was the story of John and Mary Winchester, or rather the Supernatural origin story. I always felt like my character, Dean, would have wanted to know more about his parents’ relationship and how it came to be. So I love the thought of having him take us on this journey.”
This is not the first time there has been an attempt to create a spin-off to ‘Supernatural’. Most notably ‘Supernatural: Bloodlines’ and ‘Wayward Sisters’ were both aired as backdoor pilots during the main season run, but it was always felt that the series didn’t have the pull of the original without the lead duo. With Jensen’s direct involvement in this new attempt, and with the main show now ended, it will be interesting to see if that manages to push this spin-off over the finish line.
Created by Eric Kripke, ‘Supernatural’ ran for 15 Seasons, and became the longest-running sci-fi/genre series in the history of US broadcast television. Since the show ended, Jensen Ackles has reteamed with Kripke, taking on the role of Solider Boy in Season 3 of ‘The Boys’. His tv brother, Jared Padalecki, stuck with The CW and is currently starring in ‘Walker’, which was picked up for a 2nd Season earlier this year.
‘The Winchesters’ has only been given a script commitment at the moment, so it’s very possible it may go no further than that. We’ll let you know if it gets picked up to pilot or if there is any more news!
