Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Winchesters Season 1 finale, “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.” Read at your own risk!
Jensen Ackles has been a busy man as of late as he returned to The CW to develop, narrate and occasionally appear in the Supernatural prequel, The Winchesters. However, he showed up with a beard, which is unusual for Dean Winchester, and because of this, I'm convinced that he could possibly return to Amazon Prime’s The Boys as another fan-favorite character: Soldier Boy.
In the Season 1 finale of The Winchesters we finally found out why Dean Winchester was involved in a prequel story about his parents, and how he had pulled off such a timeline-bending feat. Not only that, but we also saw that he was sporting a growing beard, which looked different as opposed to his appearance in the show’s pilot. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Jensen Ackles admitted that the beard is for another project, and I can’t help but wonder if that character just so happens to be a supe:
Without giving away too much, I'm supposed to do another character, and I needed that kind of facial growth and that hair to stick around. I didn't know if I should cut all my hair off and shave my beard. And [showrunner] Robbie [Thompson] was like, ‘Well, then don't.’
As of now, Ackles doesn’t have any upcoming projects that are public, aside from the movie Rust, which will continue filming amid its controversy. Meanwhile, his return as Soldier Boy in Season 4 of The Boys has been rumored, but not confirmed, and seeing him with a beard, makes me think he might be returning as the supe. So who knows what’s going to happen? It's also important to note that there are a few Supernatural vets appearing in Season 4 of The Boys, so that's just another reason for Ackles to return.
Luckily the beard wasn’t so out of character for Dean since he is still in Heaven following the Supernatural finale. They were able to make it work and even throw in a short line about it during the scene with Dean and Bobby, as Ackles says:
I think they did a good enough job of making it look like I've been in heaven for a while. In fact, Jim Beaver actually added a line in that scene in the train station where he's like, ‘I'm gonna go get the cavalry.’ And, I think I say like, ‘What do you mean?’ He's like, ‘Well, you know, we gotta get some help.’ And then, just before he walks away, he goes, ‘Nice try with the beard, though.’ I think we were just running long on time, and we had to shave every little bit of stuff away, so unfortunately, that didn't make it. But we got to have a little fun.
It does make me wonder if not for that secret character if Dean would have still had a beard or if he would have been clean-shaven like he was on Supernatural. Either way, he definitely looks great with facial hair, and it was pretty amusing that even in the midst of everything going on, Bobby had to comment on the beard, which was really on brand for him.
The beard may not have been a big part of Dean Winchester on Supernatural, but it is definitely the opposite for Soldier Boy on The Boys. When he started filming the superhero series he was growing a pretty fine beard that many fans weren’t used to, but have since grown to love. And now, with Dean sporting some facial hair in The Winchesters, it’s hard to not put two and two together, considering how secretive Ackles is being about that other role, and how the beard is a big part of Solider Boy's look. It may be wishful thinking, but Soldier Boy’s story may not be over just yet.
There is no premiere date yet for Season 4 of The Boys, nor any word on Season 2 for The Winchesters, so it might be a while until we see Jensen Ackles on our screens again, that is, if he is going to be returning to The Boys. In the meantime, though, you can stream the third season of the superhero series with an Amazon Prime subscription to get check the bear out for yourself, and keep a look out on the 2023 TV schedule for any updates about Ackles' future on The Boys.
