Jeffrey Dean Morgan has stated that he would be very interested in returning to his role as John Winchester in Supernatural. Morgan made his Supernatural debut in the show's very first season as the source of Sam and Dean's considerable daddy issues, but the character met his demise in the season 2 premiere, "In My Time of Dying," giving his life to save his fatally injured son, Dean.
Although he later re-appeared briefly as a spirit and then as a young man with a different actor, John Winchester is yet to properly return to the Supernatural fold as the series heads into season 13. This is somewhat of an anomaly by Supernatural standards, as the vast majority of dead characters have returned from the grave at some point over the past decade including Mary Winchester, Samuel Campbell and Bobby Singer. The Winchester brothers themselves have also been resurrected so often, dying is now little more than a temporary inconvenience for them.
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Despite being one of the only Winchesters to remain dead up until now, it appears that John may be reunited with his sons in the near future as Jeffrey Dean Morgan has reaffirmed his interest in bringing the character back. Speaking at a fan convention this week (via TV Guide), the actor stated:
"We talk about it all the time and I've been saying it for years because it's Supernatural and you can come back, as proven by every actor that's ever been on the show. I certainly hope that at some point not only will John return in some capacity. But I think that Sam and Dean need to have some closure with this guy and I think that John would like the opportunity to have some closure, and I think you, the audience, deserves it."
With Morgan himself so keen on a return and Supernatural producers also seemingly very much open to the idea, the lingering issue appears to be one of availability. The actor is currently tied up tormenting Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead and balancing his work fighting zombies with his work fighting just about everything else on Supernatural is most likely unrealistic. Similarly, the return of John Winchester would have to make sense in the current Supernatural timeline and with Sam and Dean's mother only just returning from the dead, it's perhaps too soon for their father to pull the same trick.
Morgan does certainly have a point when he speaks about closure however. Despite ultimately being a good man and father, John's choices did cause Sam and Dean unholy amounts of emotional and physical trauma. Furthermore, in one of the most heartbreaking moments in the show's history, Supernatural's twelfth season included a scene in which Dean unleashed years of pent up anger at his mother and that was merely a taster of what he and Sam would have to say to their dear old Dad.
With that said, the return of John Winchester does perhaps hinge primarily on the fate in Negan in The Walking Dead. It has been confirmed that the forthcoming season 8 will contain the entire "All Out War" arc and depending on how closely the TV adaptation follows the comic books, Negan could either be killed off or become an integral element in The Walking Dead's future. If the latter comes to pass, Sam and Dean may just have to wait a little longer before getting that much-needed closure.
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Supernatural season 13 premieres October 12th on The CW.
Source: TV Guide