This year not only marks five years since Supernatural ended, but also the 20th anniversary of the long-running CW series. The show remains a favorite to this day, especially for those with a Netflix subscription. The cast still remains close, too, and their upcoming reunion on The Boys is proof of that. But would Supernatural ever make a return in the form of a revival? Fans have been wanting an R-rated streaming reboot, and now, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have shared their thoughts on the matter.
Supernatural’s finale left fans divided, both with how the story ended and who was or wasn’t included. But that isn’t stopping people from still hoping that the show would come back in some way, shape, or form, and they aren’t the only ones. Over a year ago, Padalecki explained how he would want the series to come back, and his answer hasn’t changed while chatting with TV Insider about SPN’s anniversary:
We’re all a lot older than we were 20 years ago. I don’t know if I have 22 episodes of Supernatural in me. I think a limited series would be great.
Considering Supernatural ran for 15 seasons and very likely could have gone another 15 had the boys not decided that it was time to say goodbye, it makes sense that another full-blown show wouldn’t be on the table. A limited series gives fans just enough to see what the Winchesters are up to and what happened following the finale, either taking the show to Heaven or to a parallel universe, like on The Winchesters.
As for what kind of format the show would get, Ackles has some ideas, and it involves a much grittier and R-rated version. There’s only so much that can be included on a network television show. And Supernatural would be epic if it could go even harder, and if the “Ghostfacers” episode from Season 3 is any indication, I think Sam and Dean would love to take advantage of being able to swear. Not only that, but the tone would be drastically different, as the Dean actor explained:
I’ve thought about this because we’ve been asked what the show would have looked like had it been on a streamer. And it would’ve been different. It would’ve been a little more R-rated. But part of me feels like, because of what we did for so long and what the tone is, I feel like changing that now might be doing it a disservice. I could see the benefit in keeping it like a broadcast show.
Now, I'd sure love to see that. However, it’s unknown if a revival will ever happen.
It's not out of the question, though, considering these guys' enthusiasm and the number of reboots and spinoffs on TV right now. In fact, Criminal Minds: Evolution has been flourishing on Paramount+ with its NSFW change and darker narratives while still being the Criminal Minds fans know and love. Plus, the Supernatural fandom doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, so it’s always possible a revival will happen in the future.
At the very least, as previously mentioned, Jared Padalecki and Misha Collins will be joining Jensen Ackles on the fifth and final season of The Boys. This means that fans will be able to see them in a more NSFW setting, and it will probably be the complete opposite of Supernatural, but still as entertaining as ever. Filming has completed on The Boys, so it’s only just a matter of time before it eventually premieres with an Amazon Prime subscription.
In the meantime, I'll be thinking about what could happen on this R-rated version of Supernatural.
