The Winchesters Boss Reveals When Viewers Will Learn More About Jensen Ackles' Dean And Meet Other Supernatural Characters

Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester in Supernatural
(Image credit: The CW)

The day all Supernatural fans have been waiting for finally arrived earlier this week, as the drama’s first official spinoff, The Winchesters, debuted as part of the 2022 TV schedule. While the show definitely did a lot in its first hour, including setting up the Big Bad for the season and breaking established canon in several major ways, there are absolutely already two major questions about the series overall. When and where, exactly, is Dean Winchester narrating the action from? Well, the showrunner has now opened up about when fans will get more answers about his time on the new prequel, and if we’ll see any other familiar faces.

What Did The Winchesters’ Showrunner Say About Dean’s Whereabouts On The Show? 

I think it’s fair to say that, after those behind Supernatural had already made a few attempts at spinoffs that never made it to air, fans were psyched that a series focused on the love story and adventures of John and Mary Winchester (Sam and Dean’s beloved parents) was being spearheaded by the show’s former co-lead, Jensen Ackles. And, it was even better when we learned that his character would be around to narrate the tale. However, with the way the parent show ended for Dean, that automatically led to some questions about the when, where, why, and how of his narration.

When speaking with TVLine about the premiere, showrunner Robbie Thompson talked about when eager viewers will get more details on Dean, and said:

Where Dean is is a mystery for now. We’ve provided some clues in some of the visuals that I think some fans have already picked up on and have some theories on where he is. But we will definitely resolve where that handsome young man is in relation to the final seasons of Supernatural. . . . These are all wonderful theories I can neither confirm nor deny. But we will be resolving that in our first 13 episodes, 100 percent.

Something that fans were wondering about is how Dean could be on this journey of finding out more about his parents time together before they married and had kids without Sam. Though Thompson is being super secretive (and reasonably so) about when in the pre-established timeline we’re seeing/hearing from Dean, it’s good to know that there are clues about it and that they’re not going to make us wait forever to find out. I have a theory that I’m sure many other fans have thought of, and I can certainly wait just a few weeks to see if we’re all correct.

While we all loved seeing Dean on our screens again, even if quite briefly, there was another Supernatural cameo that viewers might have missed, in the form of a voice over from actor Gil McKinney, who played John’s dad, Henry, on the parent series. If you’re wondering whether or not we’ll be seeing/hearing from even more recognizable characters along with The Winchesters cast in the future, the showrunner also noted: 

Absolutely. We will see some Supernatural faces. I’m not at liberty to say who just yet, but in the back part of our first 13 episodes, you will definitely see some familiar faces, which I’m super, super excited about.

I mean, they almost have to give us some additional cameos, right? When you have as many immortal/magical characters to play with as they do (like a certain faux Norse god and a prophet who’s actually much more), there shouldn’t be a problem when it comes to bringing back some of the folks we know and love for the freshman fantasy.

We can see how everything shakes out when The Winchesters airs, Tuesdays on The CW, at 8 p.m. EST.

Adrienne Jones
Senior Content Creator

Covering The Witcher, Outlander, Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias and a slew of other streaming shows, Adrienne Jones is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend, and started in the fall of 2015. In addition to writing and editing stories on a variety of different topics, she also spends her work days trying to find new ways to write about the many romantic entanglements that fictional characters find themselves in on TV shows. She graduated from Mizzou with a degree in Photojournalism.