In just a few months, the world of Supernatural gets another addition; Jensen and Danneel Ackles's prequel The Winchesters is set to debut this coming fall. After the finale of Supernatural divided fans with Deans' unexpected ending, the prequel has a lot to live up to, and some questions to answer.
We still don't know whether this will be a prequel in the same universe, an alternate timeline, or possibly some sort of parallel world. The trailer for the CW series has provided some clues to keep fans guessing, and they took to Reddit to discuss theories and opinions.
It Looks Like Scooby-Doo
There have already been some funny reactions to The Winchesters trailer, and one of the best ones has been the comparison of the new show and the classic cartoon full of funny villains, Scooby-Doo. Supernatural actually did a crossover episode with Scooby-Doo in their thirteenth season.
Redditor M086 says after watching the trailer, "This is literally Scooby-Doo, right down to them riding around in a van." This comparison is funny, especially since Supernatural is sort of Scooby-Doo for adults.
Jensen Ackles Is The Perfect Person To Take Over Supernatural's Story
When Jensen and Danneel Ackles announced the launch of their production company, Chaos Machine Productions, in 2020, fans immediately assumed that their first project would be a Supernatural spinoff series. Their suspicions were proved correct months later when the development of The Winchesters was confirmed in June of 2021. Especially after the first trailer for the show, fans are ecstatic that Ackles, who played Dean Winchester on Supernatural for 15 years, is the person who is in charge of the future of the beloved show and fandom.
Redditor highd writes, "After [Supernatural] telling Jensen to take or leave the finale, to me this feels like Jensen gets another chance to do a show in this world without being treated so poorly. Jensen took over the stewardship of the show feels right to me. Not only did he do amazing things as Dean, but he directed the hell out of his episodes." Ackles has tackled the highs and the saddest parts of Dean's character for the past 15 years, so should be the person who can do the prequel justice.
Don't Worry About The Continuity Issues
The first trailer for The Winchesters has not been out for long, and people already have some issues with it, more specifically, with its continuity problems and how it messes with a few Supernatural episodes. Some aspects of The Winchesters directly contradicts facts from Supernatural, like John's father being a hunter. In Supernatural, John doesn't know anything about hunting and doesn't begin that life until after Mary is killed by Azazel. There are a number of continuity and factual errors in the trailer, and while some fans are concerned, the general consensus is that these issues are nothing to worry about, as they will probably get solved in the show.
Redditor Vincent_adultman98 says, "Jensen Ackles said in an interview that they're going to address the continuity concerns through some means (like he forgets monsters because of magic or it's actually an alternate timeline or something along those lines.)"
Hope That Old Characters Will Return
Since The Winchesters follows John and Mary Winchester, there are a lot of great opportunities for old Supernatural characters to make appearances. Especially at the beginning of the show, Sam and Dean often work with John's old hunting partners and friends, like Bobby Singer, Ellen and Jo Harvelle, Rufus Turner, and later, they even interact with Mary's family, the Campbells. Fans hope that some old favorite side characters of Supernatural will make some guest appearances on The Winchesters.
Redditor Aquariusgem writes, "We weren’t able to get the Bobby and Rufus prequel so having some scenes with people like Bobby and Ellen along the way would be a satisfying compromise for me. They were part of the origin story too so they are just as important as the parents." Hopefully, some of these old characters will be able to appear in the new show.
Alternate Universe?
The continuity errors in the trailer for The Winchesters are already creating issues for fans. There are definitely certain aspects of John and Mary's relationship that seem to directly and obviously contradict what audiences have been told and shown in Supernatural. One fan has a particularly interesting theory for why The Winchesters already appears to negate some events in certain episodes of Supernatural.
"The only way to explain it is that it’s an alternate timeline or a completely different universe from the main [Supernatural] one," Reddit user streetvoyager writes, "We know Chuck created tons of different universes best way to make this work is for it to fit into one of them. I mean they already changed how the two of them meet. We see how they met outside a movie theatre in [Supernatural] so canon is already f----d." There is no telling what direction this new show will take, but this is certainly a possibility.
Where's Sam?
To fans' dismay, Jared Padalecki's Sam Winchester is nowhere to be seen in The Winchesters trailer, despite Padalecki and Ackles' long-running friendship. There are several reasons for this, the main one being that Padalecki is busy with several projects himself, currently starring in the CW's Walker, and even producing a prequel to the show. His absence has certainly been noted, with a lot of fans being disappointed and sad that Sam doesn't seem like he'll be in the show at all.
Redditor jajjjenny says sadly, "I can’t get over how wrong it felt to just see Dean in the promo. Like it was jarring. LOL. No Sam was such a glaring omission from the front passenger seat." It's sad that as far as we know, Padalecki is not involved in this prequel series, but maybe he will be able to make an appearance, who knows?
Is Dean In Heaven?
Since Sam doesn't appear in the trailer, this has led some fans to theorize that at the time of Dean's narration, he may actually be in heaven, post Supernatural series finale. It's certainly amazing that the trailer has only just come out, and people are already talking about the show and theorizing about it.
Redditor MiriMidd says, "I’m making the assumption that Dean is in heaven because the Impala has Kansas tags and he has the Samuel. I’m assuming that also because Sam is not with him and Dean would almost never willingly go anywhere without Sam...Oh and when did Dean suddenly become the chief researcher?" Audiences don't know when Dean's narration takes place, but it certainly seems possible that he may be in heaven.
In Jensen Ackles We Trust
The trailer has gotten a lot of fans excited, but it has already generated a lot of online criticism as well, with people saying that it looks like a teeny-bopper romance show, very Riverdale-esque. Even though a lot of fans might be concerned and disappointed by the trailer, most still hold onto hope, mainly because Jensen Ackles is heading it.
Redditor rise_above_theflames writes, "The trailer was really disappointing for me and I went in with not very high hopes to begin with. Plus recasting young John and Mary will just drive me nuts watching it. I'll still check it out because the only hope I have is that Jensen is at the helm and knows the original show better than anyone."
The Purpose Of The Show Is To Attract New Viewers
One of the biggest criticisms of the trailer so far is that it doesn't really appeal to Supernatural viewers. It fits into the CW's target audience of tweens, teens, and young adults, but most Supernatural fans are older than that since the show began in 2005. This is a valid criticism, but one fan reminds others that the purpose of this show is likely to attract new viewers, not to satisfy old ones.
Redditor idealzebra, "This is what I was going to say. It's to hopefully bring new fans into the franchise. The CW knows their audience. I kind of expect this to be to Supernatural what Legacies is to The Vampire Diaries and The Originals."
No Fan Pandering In Sight
Fans didn't ask for a show about John and Mary Winchester. These two characters are actually among the most hated in the entire Supernatural fandom. They aren't great parents, and fans dislike the way they treat their sons, especially John. That being said, people are thankful that there is no fan pandering in the trailer of The Winchesters.
AdAlone3213 writes, "I think in general fan pandering can ruin great shows. I am skeptical about messing with canon but I plan on watching it with an open mind and giving it a fair chance." It's good that Ackles is telling the story he wants to tell, and that he doesn't feel the need to cave into fulfilling fans' demands.