A Supernatural reunion of sorts is happening for the newest episode of The CW’s Walker, in the form of Jensen Ackles directing his former on-screen brother Jared Padalecki. And now that he's able to, Ackles has opened up about reuniting with Padalecki following the end of their long-running series, and frankly addressed the possibility of an on-screen Supernatural reunion.
Ahead of Thursday’s episode of Walker, which will also feature an appearance from legendary band Kansas, Ackles spoke to TVLine about his time on the show. Although he is busy with The Boys and the Supernatural prequel series that he's executive producing, The Winchesters, the Smallville alum was optimistic about appearing with Padalecki on Walker in the future. Which now means we're extremely optimistic! In his words:
There has been some talk about it, but the possibility has been earmarked, we’ll say, until things kind of slow down with my schedule — if they do. I’m kind of over-committed as it is right now. So we kind of just said, ‘Well, down the road, we’ll keep an eye out.’ And if I was to ever do it, I don’t know if it makes sense to do something completely opposite of what he and I did for 15 years together, or if it makes sense to lean into that a little bit, have some familiarity there. I don’t know. We’ll see if we get to cross that path. I wouldn’t be surprised, also, if somebody comes knocking and says, 'Hey, they want to do a Supernatural short-order reboot or movie or something,' and then that’s the next time you see Jared and I together.
While it has been nice to see Ackles and Padalecki working on different projects and enjoying success on those fronts, I do miss seeing them share the screen. They played brothers for 15 years on Supernatural, and not seeing them making new adventures together anymore definitely makes me sad in that respect. Like Ackles himself, I have endless curiosity what kind of appearance and/or storyline he would fit into if he were to actually show up on Walker, but it sounds like he may already be thinking of some ways it could happen.
Jensen Ackles also expressed his excitement in working with Jared Padalecki again in a directorial capacity. Walker doesn’t make the first time he’s taken on such an authoritative role with his former co-star, as Ackles directed several Supernatural episodes. However, this is the first time he's behind the camera with Padalecki on a different series, and with a character unfamiliar to him. But because of their extensive past together, the pair quickly fell back into their old rhythms. According to Ackles:
It was very nice to be back with someone who I’ve got such an incredible shorthand with, which we’ll always have. You don’t lose something like that. Spending 15 years building that up, that’s never going to go away. So that was fun. And being able to direct him in such a quick way… I think some of the other cast were kind of like, ‘Wait, what was that note? Did you just reference a movie, and you’re now changing your tone?’ So those kind of things were a lot of fun for he and I to play with.
Something else that didn’t change for the duo is their love of pranks. They were known for pranking each other and their fellow co-stars on Supernatural, and that continued when Jensen Ackles directed Walker. The actor documented his week on the Walker, Texas Ranger reboot and the many different names that were put on his director’s chair, which included various characters he’s played, and even his own parents. It was pretty hilarious, and wouldn't have happened with any ol' stranger.
The sentiments that Ackles has about working on Walker and with Padalecki override the brief-but-unforgettable moment in time when it looked like the two were fighting with one another. After The Winchesters was announced, Padalecki reacted in a series of tweets about how “gutted” he was. However, he soon cleared the air and admitted to having a long talk with Ackles and that he genuinely didn’t know about the project.
As a Supernatural fan first, and now a fan of Walker, I’m more than excited to see this Supernatural reunion happen, even if it is only behind the camera FOR NOW. There will likely be multiple references to the series, and with Kansas, whose song “Carry On Wayward Son” serves as the unofficial theme song of SPN, it will be an hour that you won’t want to miss.
Don’t miss Jensen Ackles’ Walker episode premiering tonight at 8 p.m. EST on The CW! Check out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to see what else to look forward to.
