Supernatural may have ended, but its world will live on in an upcoming spinoff series, The Winchesters. Taking place years before the events of Supernatural, the prequel — which is being executive-produced by Dean Winchester actor Jensen Ackles — will focus on Sam and Dean's parents, Mary and John, as they meet for the first time and work together to save the world.
Drama ensued last year when the show was revealed to be in development, as Jared Padalecki (Sam Winchester) tweeted out his displeasure with finding out about the series online, rather than from Ackles himself.
The actors ultimately patched things up, though viewers didn't find out exactly what had led to Padalecki being kept in the dark about the spinoff. Now, thanks to Jensen Ackles, we have a better idea of what happened.
During an appearance on Michael Rosenbaum's Inside of You podcast, the actor revealed that he didn't tell Padalecki about the project because it was still in an early stage of development:
"[I'm] extremely superstitious when it comes to a few things. And one of those is — and this is probably something that a lot of actors share — we don't talk about auditions until we got the role. [It's] an unwritten rule that you just don't talk about sh—t until it's a done deal [...] And [The Winchesters] was my first venture into producing and creating content, and I didn't wanna jinx it at any cost, so I shut up about it. Only the people that had to know knew."
Ackles then explained that he was excited to tell Padalecki once the show was a sure thing, but unfortunately for him, news leaked as soon as more people started getting involved with the project:
"I definitely had people that I was excited to tell. Jared being number one on that list. [...] And then it was getting close to getting to the point where it was like, 'Oh, this is really happening.' The network, the studio had signed off on it. [...] We still didn't have a script [...] so it was very early on. I mean, we had a concept, essentially. And when you start getting studio, and you start getting network involved, you start getting a lot of eyes and a lot of ears [...] and people talk, and [news of the spinoff] got out."
He learned about Deadline's announcemnet while he was on a new set, which created a challenging situation for him:
"I'm on set in Toronto, and I get a phone call, they're like, 'Hey, Deadline caught wind of it, and they're throwing something out this afternoon.' [...] So I quickly had to write up a little something, and I'm getting called from network, and I'm getting called from studio. [...] And I'm on a new set, and they don't do cellphones [there]. [...] So if you need to make a phone call [...], you gotta go back out to the trailers, [which is] slightly frowned upon. [...] So, I go back [and] I'm trying to come up with a little blurb that I can send out [on social media]. All the while, not even thinking, 'Oh, sh—t, I haven't told A, B, C, D, E.'"
Ackles recalled how he sent out the message and went back to work, not having realized that he never broke the news to Padalecki. It wasn't until he got back to his phone that he saw a message from his longtime co-star:
"I had a long text from Jared, and he was really bummed, and I just remember my heart just sank."
When Rosenbaum brought up Padalecki's infamous tweet, Ackles said he wished Padalecki had avoided making that misunderstanding public. However, he acknowledged that they are now on good terms after discussing the issue:
"In hindsight, that could have been a step that was avoided. But he did it, and it happened, and we dealth with it. And he and I, we're great. I wish he had just called me and said, 'Yo, dude, why didn't you tell me you're doing this?' And I would have been like, 'Oh, okay, yes [...] It's way early in the process [...] I just didn't wanna talk about [and jinx it]. [...] And he totally got it. He understood, and he was like 'Ah, I probably shouldn't have [tweeted that].'"
The Boys star further acknowledged his mistake in not telling Padalecki, and explained that he apologized. While it was undoubtedly a difficult situation for both actors, it's great to know this issue is now behind them.
There is no release date available for The Winchesters, but there is a synopsis for it, which teases what the show will focus on:
"Before Sam and Dean, there was John and Mary. Told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), 'The Winchesters' 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."