The Supernatural Dudes Are Fighting [UPDATED]

For some reason, they couldn’t keep this in a group chat.

On Thursday, Supernatural alum Jared Padalecki expressed dismay over the news that his former co-star, Jensen Ackles, had been tapped to run a prequel about the longrunning CW show. Ackles tweeted a link to a Deadline article announcing the project, a project that Padalecki apparently had no knowledge of.

“Dude. Happy for you,” Padalecki tweeted in response to Ackles. “Wish I heard about this some way other than Twitter. I’m excited to watch, but bummed that Sam Winchester had no involvement whatsoever.”

For 15 years, Padalecki portrayed Sam Winchester, a man who hunts demons and other supernatural ghouls alongside his brother, Dean, played by Ackles. The show ended in November of 2020 and is the longest-running fantasy television series in American history. But apparently collecting bag after bag after bag from the CW and guaranteed syndication checks for eternity can’t soothe the blow of being excluded from another Supernatural venture.

When asked by a fan if his reaction was sincere, Padalecki confirmed that he was serious. “I’m gutted,” he wrote.

The Supernatural prequel, titled The Winchesters, will focus on the brothers’ parents. According to Deadline, Ackles will act as one of the show’s executive producers as well as its narrator, reprising his role as Dean Winchester. Ackles’s wife and recurring Supernatural guest star, Danneel Ackles, will also play a role in the new series.

From Deadline:

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.

[…]

“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.”

Meanwhile, Padalecki is fuming about the news. In a now-deleted tweet, Padalecki even went after former Supernatural executive producer Robbie Thompson, who is now acting as a writer and executive producer for The Winchesters.

“@rthompson1138 Et tu brute??” Padalecki tweeted. “Wow. What a trully [sic] awful thing you’ve done, #Bravo you coward.”

And even Misha Collins, who played a (gay!!!) angel named Castiel on Supernatural for the majority of the show’s run, had something to say about the ordeal.

“Seems like the show would benefit from a time-traveling angel-in-a-trenchcoat character,” he wrote.

Honestly, I think it’s time for everyone—Collins, Padalecki, and yes, Ackles too—to move on from this show and just be grateful it ran for far longer than it should have. And same goes for the furious fans as well. Move on, lads.

Update, 4:49 p.m.: Okay, the boys have made up… I guess.