Summary

• Supernatural season 16 is an exciting update, but how exactly can the showrunners change the decisive season 15 ending?
• One big challenge will be dealing with Jack as the new God. If Supernatural wants to continue, the show must retcon his new godly status.
• Jack's powers must go for the Winchesters to truly struggle and survive in the new Supernatural installment.

Now that Supernatural may come back for a sixteenth season, many are wondering how it will work after the show's decisive ending, and in particular, what parts of the finale will have to be reworked for a new season to work. In November 2020, Supernatural came to a controversial end after an impressive fifteen seasons. Though many felt that it was time for the show to end, many were unhappy with the Winchester brothers' fates. In this way, when Jared Padalecki noted at the 2023 Creation Honolulu convention that more Supernatural adventures were being discussed, anticipation rose.

However, Supernatural season 16 is not going to be easy. First and foremost, the series finale was quite final. After defeating God, Dean Winchester dies during a simple vampire hunt. Sam mourns his brother, but ends up being able to move on and start a family of his own. Later, he dies of old age and is reunited with Dean in Heaven. On top of that, Supernatural has such a long and complex history that bringing it back will require rearranging of the series' lore. Questions that have already been answered will have to be taken back in order to continue.

In particular, Padalecki told the convention, ""I have some ideas, and I hope that now that the writers are back, and the actors are back, that we all get together."

Supernatural Season 16 Would Need To Retcon Jack Becoming God

One such answer that Supernatural season 16 would have to take away is Jack becoming God at the end of the Supernatural series finale. In the penultimate episode of Supernatural season 15, Chuck aka God was on a rampage, intent on destroying every world he ever built, when he was ultimately defeated when a confrontation between Michael and Lucifer allowed Jack to absorb all of God's powers. Finally, Chuck was defeated and Jack took up the mantel of God. Though it saddened Sam and Dean to leave him behind, his new role was for the greater good of the universe.

If Supernatural wants to continue though, Jack will have to be booted as God. Mainly, this is because Sam and Dean should not be able to have the power of God on their side when they begin hunting again. Although Jack cannot be near them as he was before he was God, he could certainly use his powers to help the Winchesters, and this would simply be unfair.

For Supernatural to be interesting, the brothers must face adversity of the cosmic kind, and having Jack behind them would be too easy.

How Supernatural Could Remove Jack As The New God

There are many ways in which Supernatural could remove Jack as God. Most likely, the show will have to make several changes, and so bringing in one big thing that will change everything seems like the right move. For example, many have suggested that Supernatural season 16 takes place in an entirely new universe, different from the one Supernatural always occurred in. In this new universe, perhaps Dean never died and Jack never became God. Similarly, if Supernatural 16 chose some sort of time travel arc, the same effect should be put into place.

In of Jack-specific changes, Supernatural season 16 could have Jack give up his godly abilities. Finding them too difficult, perhaps he runs away from his role. Furthermore, maybe God's powers change Jack. This would be less of a change and more of a rewrite, wherein God's powers make Jack no longer himself, but a changed entity. In this way, the WInchesters would have no sway on him. Finally, there is the obvious choice of giving Jack competition. Maybe at the start of season 16, another powerful being knocks Jack from his throne, putting the world into jeopardy once more.

The Winchesters Already Proved How Useful Jack Would Be

In fact, the Supernatural franchise has already proven why Jack needs to be taken from his role. Although Supernatural season 16 could just say that Jack has no interest in helping the Winchesters, it would be hard to believe. This is because during The Winchesters, Jack helps Dean bend the rules of the universe. In this way, audiences know that Jack not only can but will help the Winchesters on their own personal quests, and therefore, his powers must be removed if Supernatural is going to continue.

Jack's godly status is just one of many obstacles the Supernatural team will have to face if they want to get the show going again. Even if season 16 is just a brief look back or a mini-series, there are still logistical problems that are going to have to be solved. In this way, Supernatural season 16 has many problems to fix before it can be the installment fans have been waiting for.