The Winchesters: Release date speculation for Supernatural prequel

By James Hibbs

Published: Tuesday, 19 July 2022 at 12:00 am

Supernatural prequel The Winchesters is coming to The CW this autumn, and it will tell the story of how John and Mary Winchester, as played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Samantha Smith in the original series, met.

The series comes from Supernatural star Jensen Ackles, who also reprises his role as Dean to narrate the series, along with his wife Danneel.

Ackles recently told TVLine that “The great thing about this world is that nothing is off the table. We have ways of bringing back fan-favourite characters and the actors that played them”, meaning we could also be set to see more appearances from Supernatural alum.

Read on for everything you need to know about Supernatural prequel The Winchesters.

When and where will The Winchesters air?

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The Winchesters
Matt Miller/The CW

The Winchesters will air in the US on The CW this autumn, although no specific release date has yet been confirmed. We also don’t know a UK release date, or exactly where the series will air when it gets here.

Supernatural aired on E4 in the UK, but whether The Winchesters follows suit currently remains to be seen. We’ll keep this page updated as and when we have any news.

What is The Winchesters about?

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The cast of Supernatural
Sergei Bachlakov/The CW

The official synopsis for the series, which comes from Supernatural star Jensen Ackles and his wife Danneel, says the prequel series will be “Told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester” and that it is “the epic, untold love story of how John Winchester met Mary Campbell and put it all on the line to not only save their love, but the entire world.”

The synopsis continues: “When John returns home from fighting in Vietnam, a mysterious encounter sparks a new mission to trace his father’s past. In his journey, he crosses paths with 19-year-old demon hunter Mary, who is also searching for answers after the disappearance of her own father.

“Together, the two join forces with young hunter-in-training Latika and easygoing hunter Carlos to uncover the hidden truths about both their families. Their investigation leads them to a rare book emporium, whose owner Ada takes an interest to the occult and could provide the missing pieces to their puzzle.

“But secrets run deep for both the Winchesters and Campbells, and despite the best efforts of John’s mother Millie to protect her son from pursuing a dangerous life of demon hunting, John and Mary are both determined to work together to uphold their families’ legacies while beginning to form a family of their own.”

The Winchesters cast – Who will return from Supernatural?

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Drake Rodger, Meg Donnelly, Danneel Ackles and Jensen Ackles at an event for The Winchesters
Cindy Ord/WireImage/Getty

The cast announced for the series so far sees Drake Rodger and Meg Donnelly play John Winchester and Mary Campbell respectively, while Jensen Ackles reprise his role as Dean to narrate the story.

The rest of the cast includes Nida Khurshid, Jojo Fleites, Bianca Kajlich, Demetria McKinney and Michael Tacconi. Here’s a full list of the cast who have been announced so far:

  • Drake Rodger as John Winchester
  • Meg Donnelly as Mary Campbell
  • Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester
  • Nida Khurshid as Latika Desai
  • Jojo Fleites as Carlos Cervantez
  • Bianca Kajlich as Millie Winchester
  • Demetria McKinney as Ada Monroe
  • Michael Tacconi as Hank Murphy

Whether Jared Padalecki will show up as Dean’s brother Sam remains to be seen. When the series was first announced Padalecki tweeted that he was “bummed” to have had “no involvement whatsoever” in the prequel, but later clarified with The New York Times that Ackles has since spoken with him and said he would let him “know what’s going on” in the future.

So there’s still potential for a reunion between the two brothers on the cards.

The Winchesters trailer

You can watch the first trailer for The Winchesters, which was released earlier this year, right here now.