Jensen Ackles is no longer Supernatural's Dean Winchester, and he went in a very different direction with his follow-up role as Soldier Boy on The Boys. His new role brought a Supernatural reunion, as creator Eric Kripke is also responsible for the Amazon Prime show. The actor has opened up about the fortuitous way he landed Soldier Boy just as Supernatural was coming to an end. It even involved beating out some movie stars.
In 2021, Eric Kripke had discussed how Jensen Ackles won the role of Soldier Boy, but now it’s Ackles’ time to share his side of the story. In a new interview with Men’s Health, he talked about his time on The Boys and just how he landed his Supe role. Originally, Soldier Boy was actually supposed to be for an older actor, but when Ackles called Kripke to get his take on a different project, the conversation went in an unexpected direction:
I said, ‘So what's going on over there at The Boys?' We were just about to finish up Supernatural, and I was like, ‘You know, I'm about to be unemployed.’ Just kind of threw it out there jokingly. He immediately said, ‘Look, man, if you want to come over to The Boys, I'll get you over here no problem. I'd love to have you.’ And I was like, ‘Sign me up!’
Since Supernatural was close to wrapping up after 15 seasons, it's no wonder that Ackles jumped on the opportunity to join The Boys! The actor mentioned that Kripke sent him over some audition sides and immediately wanted in.
However, Ackles wasn’t too sure he would even get the part. While he didn’t specify who since he would likely get blacklisted, he mentioned that after hearing about who all was on the shortlist, he was positive he wasn’t going to land Soldier Boy:
I do know that there were some names that I think the network was considering. There was a short list of names. And when [Kripke] read off a few of those names to me, I was like, ‘Oh, well, there's no way. I don't have a shot at this. Those are movie stars.’
Luckily, Jensen Ackles won the role of Soldier Boy, and the rest is history. It does make me wonder just who else was up for the role and who made Ackles so worried that he wouldn’t get the part. Maybe one of those movie stars can show up as a different hero in The Boys Season 4, whenever that premieres?
Meanwhile, Ackles wasn’t the only Supernatural star to go straight to a different project after the show ended. Jared Padalecki signed on for the titular role in the Walker reboot before the final season of Supernatural had even finished filming (and prior to the COVID shutdowns). The series premiered in SPN’s timeslot the following year, and Walker is now preparing to air the third season, and prequel series Walker: Independence will debut this fall. Plus, Ackles’ Supernatural prequel The Winchesters will also premiere in a few months.
Not much is known about The Boys Season 4 or if Soldier Boy will be coming back. Since he was placed back under and frozen in the season finale, it’s hard to tell whether he will return to create more chaos. Jensen Ackles will be back on TV either way, however, as he landed a series regular role on ABC' Big Sky.
Watch Season 3 of The Boys now on Amazon Prime with a subscription, while all 15 seasons of Supernatural are available with a Netflix subscription.
