Jared Padalecki ‘gutted’ over exclusion from ‘Supernatural’ spinoff

Well this isn’t exactly “super” news. Jared Padalecki, one half of the duo (or one-third of the trio, depending on how you look at it) that made Supernatural a demon-raging success for 15 seasons, wasn’t invited to participate in the upcoming spinoff. In fact, he had no clue it was even happening.

On June 24, Padalecki’s co-star and onscreen brother, Jensen Ackles, shared a news article revealing he and his wife (recurring Supernatural guest star Danneel Ackles), are producing The Winchesters. The prequel series centers on the brothers’ parents, John and Mary, but so far it is only in early development with a script commitment at The CW. Ackles will also narrate.

A few hours after Ackles posted the news, Padalecki revealed he was shocked to hear about the spinoff at all. “Dude. Happy for you,” the 38-year-old wrote on Twitter. “Wish I heard about this some way other than Twitter. I’m excited to watch, but bummed that Sam Winchester had no involvement whatsoever.”

Fans, who have not only followed Sam and Dean onscreen for years, but who have come to love what they thought was a close friendship between the actors offscreen, quickly wondered if Padalecki was joking. “No,” he revealed. “This is the first I’ve heard about it. I’m gutted.”

Padalecki also tweeted the article out in a now-deleted post that quoted The Social Network. “I’ll bet what you hated the most is that they identified me as a co-Winchester of Supernatural,” he joked. “You better lawyer up, asshole, ‘cause I’m not coming back for my 30% I’m coming back for everything!”

That post, coupled with the fact that the guys spoke about a potential Supernatural series that Ackles and his wife were working on during a virtual panel back in March, still has some fans convinced that Padalecki is joking, however.

Though it is worth it to note, he posted this tweet the following day:

Misha Collins, who played Castiel, a.k.a. the third part of that aforementioned trio on the show, also jumped online to respond to Padalecki’s announcement with a light jab. “Seems like this show would benefit from a time-traveling angel-in-a-trenchcoat character. Just saying...” he wrote in a retweet.

Since Supernatural ended last November, the original Winchesters have both been busy. Ackles solidified a role in the third season of The Boys as Soldier Boy and he’s also been working on projects with his wife under their new Chaos Machine production banner.

Padalecki, meanwhile, is the star and executive producer of the Texas Ranger remake, Walker, which was recently renewed for Season 2. According to Deadline, the show is the highest-rated series currently on The CW.

Eric Kripke, the writer who created Supernatural in the first place, is not involved in the spinoff either. He exited the series as showrunner in Season 5 and has since worked on series like Timeless and Revolution. He is currently the showrunner on The Boys, which reunites him and Ackles.

Kripke also responded to the news of the spinoff on social media, sending lots of congrats Ackles’ way. “When @JensenAckles first told me this story, I loved it,” Kripke tweeted. “He & @DanneelHarris & @rthompson1138 are the perfect people to make it. (The other perfect person is too busy Texas Rangering.) Thanks for carrying the torch, guys, go kick it in the ass. Proud of you.”

So far at time of press, Ackles hasn’t responded to any of the posts.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan played fatherly figure John Winchester on the original series, while Samantha Smith played the guys’ mom, Mary. Neither of the actors are expected to return for the prequel, which traces the story of how they met all those years ago and put everything on the line in order to save the world.

“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,” Ackles told Deadline. “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.”