If you are wondering why Supernatural is finally ending now, as opposed to some other point, you're not alone. The news that Supernatural is ending with Season 15 came via an emotional video posted on social media, but while fans have known the end is coming, they have not known exactly why that is. Now, the show's biggest stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have provided an answer.
The actors have opened up about why Supernatural is ending after all these years, as well as sharing what all went into the decision to make that move during VegasCon 2019 (via Wayward Winchester). Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles explained things here:
Padalecki: This was a community decision. The network and the studio did not say like, ‘Hey, guys, get outta here! You’re done.’Ackles: It wasn’t an easy decision. It was months and months, if not years, of discussion between [Jared] and I, between the rest of the cast, between the crew, between our writers, between our producers, between the studio, between the network… Nobody wanted to see this show fizzle out. I think that it was everyone wanting to do the biggest service to the show that we could by going out strong.
It sounds as though Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles wanted to be very mindful regarding Supernatural’s quality. They sought to bow out before the show could start to very obviously run out of creative steam. Those talks did not happen overnight, either, with Jensen Ackles revealing that discussions about Supernatural's final season had taken place over what has potentially been years.
As Jared Padalecki pointed out, the studio was not kicking Supernatural off the air. Before the announcement, The CW’s President Mark Pedowitz revealed the only way the series would ever get cancelled was if either the ratings tanked or if the cast wanted out. Otherwise, Pedowitz would have been more than happy to stick with it.
After more than 300 episodes and 14 seasons, though, the big decision got made. Well ahead of the Season 14 finale, stars Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins went public with the announcement that Supernatural would end next season. On the note of “going out strong,” Ackles continued his insight, saying:
It just seemed like the writing was kind of on the wall as to when that was happening. I think everybody kind of felt that it was coming soon. So it was just taking that leap of faith of going like, ‘Well, guys, let’s get out the paint and paint that finish line, and hold our heads high, because what we’ve accomplished is unlike any other.'
They have certainly accomplished something outstanding. Supernatural will head into its final chapter with a large legion of fans that spent many formative years with the Winchester brothers. The desire to keep the show’s quality intact remains a central aspect of the duo’s remarks about the future.
Here, Jensen Ackles even using an analogy to further illustrate his point.
If we’re driving the Impala, and we’re heading down the road, and it’s, like, left, you’re going to hit a ramp and go off a cliff, and it’s going to be epic, or right, you’re just going to run out of gas about 30 miles down the road in the middle of the desert with nothing around you. I’m like, ‘I’m going left. I want to go out with, like, pyrotechnics.’
To describe how he saw the two possibilities for Supernatural’s future, Jensen Ackles called upon a recognizable symbol from the show: Sam and Dean’s much-loved mode of transportation, The Impala. Jared Padalecki accurately pointed out that both of those options were not great, but Ackles stood by his desire to go off the air in wild style.
For those anxious to head down Supernatural’s final road, take heart. One of the show’s stars has actually offered a heartening update on it.
Misha Collins recently shared an assuring message with fans regarding Supernatural’s 15th and final season. He claimed that after the series’ hiatus between seasons, they would return to give fans the “incredible season” that everyone deserves. He also said that an ending is a "beginning in disguise." What does it all mean? A spinoff? Five spinoffs? Fans will have some time before finding out.
Supernatural’s milestone-making fourteenth season has yet to finish airing. The season finale should be a big one, too, as it will include the return of a major fan favorite. Who is it? The only way to find out is by watching. In other good news, there are a lot of Supernatural episodes left to watch.
The penultimate season of Supernatural will continue with new episodes of Supernatural airing Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.
