Supernatural: Bloodlines, lacked bite and was quickly scrapped, the backdoor pilot episode now infamously the show's lowest-rated on IMDB. The second dropped spinoff would've starred Kim Rhodes as Jody Mills leading a host of female Supernatural alumni as the Wayward Sisters. While fans responded much more positively, The CW decided a Supernatural show without Sam and Dean Winchester was like a Bobby Singer rant with the word "eejit."
When Supernatural came to an end in late 2020, however, the door opened for a "third time's the charm" spinoff that wouldn't need to coexist alongside the main show. It was a question of when Supernatural would return, rather than if, and less than a year on from season 15's finale, that time has come. Jensen Ackles and his wife Daneel (who portrayed Anael/Sister Jo from Supernatural season 13 onward) will spearhead The Winchesters, a prequel centered around Sam and Dean's parents in their younger years. The announcement didn't quite go to plan, as Ackles' co-star Jared Padalecki revealed he had no idea the prequel was happening and was, understandably, a little peeved.
Though hatchets have since been buried, the question remains of whether The Winchesters is a good idea. A continuation of the Supernatural franchise was always inevitable, but the all-important choice was whether to look to the past, or forge ahead with a sequel. Here's why The Winchesters is heading in the wrong direction.
Supernatural Continuity Makes A Prequel Difficult
According to The Winchesters' synopsis, the show will chronicle how Mary and John first met while sending the pair through all manner of paranormal perils along the way, akin to Chevrolet Impala. It's also widely known that where Mary was born into the hunting lifestyle, John was a civilian who didn't become aware of Supernatural's spooky truth until his wife's tragic death at the hands of a demon. John's father (Sam and Dean's paternal grandpa) was a member of the Men of Letters, but John remained oblivious to this also.
For The Winchesters to keep Supernatural's continuity intact, Mary must keep her hunting activities hidden from her boyfriend and schoolmates - not entirely unlike the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Since Mary is eventually revived and spends several years hunting alongside her sons in the present, The Winchesters also can't include any major villains or storylines Mary should've mentioned in the main show. One route around these restrictions might be having any timeline-busting events scrubbed from John and/or Mary's minds, but Supernatural already pulled this trick in season 5, when the archangel Michael erased all memories of a time travel escapade so that John and Mary Winchester wouldn't recall meeting their future sons.
While it's certainly not impossible to tell a Supernatural prequel without retconning history, The Winchesters will be constantly walking on eggshells trying not to contradict the main series. A sequel series, on the other hand, has far more freedom - bound by the events that preceded it, sure, but with an entirely unwritten future. Since fans are already fully aware of where the Winchester family album ends, the prequels' destination is set before the very first scene, slapping a big dampener on audience excitement.
A Sequel Is More Accommodating For Guest Stars (Including Sam & Dean)
One of the biggest questions coming out of Jensen Ackles' The Winchesters announcement is the roster of guest stars that might possibly appear. Ackles himself will apparently reprise his role as Dean Winchester, but only to serve as a narrator. Samuel Campbell, Mary's father, is a likely returnee, while the likes of Azazel and Cupid could be worked into the script easily enough. That's a fairly paltry selection, once again ham-strung by The Winchesters' prequel format. Fans would've noticed Misha Collins tongue-in-cheek gunning for a job on Twitter after the news was announced, but Castiel meeting John or Mary Winchester before the main series begins would play havoc with the timeline, and the same goes for many favorite characters viewers might want to see again. Even an appearance from Bobby would necessitate another actor taking over from Jim Beaver, which is tantamount to blasphemy in Supernatural.
As for the Winchester brother themselves, time travel is always possible as a means of dragging Ackles and Padalecki into the prequel. But if Sam and Dean had visited their parents in the past (outside of the times Supernatural already showed), this surely would've been mentioned. Without some major quantum gymnastics, The Winchesters' timeline rules Sam, Dean, and almost every other major established cast member out of making a meaningful appearance.
A sequel, however, would be far more accommodating. Although a great many characters die before the final credits roll, the line between life and death is virtually meaningless by the time Supernatural season 15 ends, effectively allowing anyone to be brought back - including the Winchesters themselves. Setting the new series after Supernatural provides infinitely more flexibility over which actors can be invited back, and could help bring justice to the likes of Castiel and Mary Winchester (the older version), who were both left to rue controversial exits.
Supernatural's Finale Set Up A Sequel, Not A Prequel
Watching Supernatural's final episode, there's nothing whatsoever to pave the way for a prequel, but breadcrumbs are left for a potential follow-up. Following Dean's death, Sam goes on to start a family with a mystery blurry-faced female, and it's heavily implied that his son (Dean Jr., obviously) is continuing the hunter legacy. The opportunity for Dean Winchester Jr. to enjoy a hunting career of his own, entirely separate from that of his father and uncle, is there for the taking.
The Dean Jr. premise is also far more interesting than how Mary and John first hooked up. There's definitely a story worth telling in how these fated lovers began their journey, but it's hardly enough to sustain a full series, let alone multiple seasons. Supernatural's time-travel episodes have removed any intrigue or mystique that the prequel might've had otherwise, with the most interesting, relevant events in John and Mary's timeline already covered.
A sequel, on the other hand offers much more scope for fresh narratives. In addition to the creative freedom and opportunity to introduce familiar faces, a Supernatural sequel starring Sam's son could deal with the heavy burden of following in the footsteps of two legends like the Winchester brothers - a young hunter desperately trying to earn the reputation of his surname, while also figuring life out for himself. If there must be another Supernatural series, surely paying off the finale's sequel tease carries the most interest.
How "The Winchesters" Can Be A Prequel AND Sequel To Supernatural
When it comes to shining examples of a TV prequel done right, it's impossible to look beyond The Winchesters, on the other hand, is set decades in the past and stars two characters fans already know plenty about.
But Better Call Saul uses a cunning trick to avoid a typical sequel problem. While most of the series is a prequel, one storyline takes place after Breaking Bad, adding an element of the unknown. The Winchesters would benefit from a similar strategy, whereby one timeline follows Mary and John in the past, and another stars Dean Jr. in Supernatural's future. The dual-eras could help foster a sense of legacy within the Winchester family, and it'd be fascinating to see how Mary's hunts could dovetail with Dean Jr.'s. Exploring the past and future simultaneously also relieves Mary and John from the weight of an entire series, meaning Supernatural needn't retcon the main show just to keep their backstory interesting.