Supernatural Prequel Series The Winchesters Has Found Its Leads

After running for an impressive 15 seasons, "Supernatural" finally came to a close in 2020. Even though The CW show's impressive run is behind us, it's not the end of the road for the Winchester family. A new spin-off titled "The Winchesters" is now in pre-production at The CW, and early reports say the show will put the perspectives of Winchester sons Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) to the wayside in order to focus on the history of their parents, Mary and John Winchester. The prequel series will also focus on a younger version of Dean, the eldest Winchester brother, as he watches his parents balance the demands of holding together a family and battling monsters.

While Ackles is an executive producer on "The Winchesters" and will return as Dean Winchester in some capacity to narrate the show, Padalecki is, as of this writing, not involved with the project. Other notable casting announcements have included newcomer Jojo Fleites, who will play a demon fighter named Carlos Cervantez, as well as Shondaland alum Nida Khurshid. Khurshid plays Latika Desai, a hunter in the early stages of training to take on the paranormal.

This week, "Supernatural" fans received the biggest (and arguably best) casting announcement so far, as "The Winchesters" has finally filled the leading roles of young John and Mary Winchester.

The CW has finally cast its two leads for the upcoming "Supernatural" prequel show, "The Winchesters." According to The Hollywood Reporter, Drake Rodger and Meg Donnelly are coming aboard as the younger versions of John and Mary Winchester. Rodgers was previously featured in "Murder RX" and "The In Between," and he will be seen in the upcoming film "Quiet in My Town," per his IMDB page. Donnelly, meanwhile, spent several years on ABC's "American Housewife," in which she played the recurring role of Taylor Otto. She also played the lead voice role in Disney's animated series "Addison's Moonstone Mystery" and its subsequent miniseries, "ZOMBIES: Addison's Monster Mystery" (via IMDB).

The characters of the elder Winchesters were explored frequently in "Supernatural," which began its first season with a plotline involving Sam and Dean tracking down the yellow-eyed demon who killed their mother, Mary. The older version of John Winchester is played by the legendary Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who would later join the cast of "The Walking Dead." Mary Winchester, meanwhile, was portrayed by Samantha Smith. And although a younger version of John appeared on "Supernatural" in flashbacks, it seems "The Winchesters" will not bring that version of the character back. Interestingly, Matt Cohen, the actor who played young John on "Supernatural," gave his blessing to Rodger and Donnelly on Twitter shortly after the casting news broke wide.

Per THR, "The Winchesters" will explore the couple in even greater detail, with John as a recently returned Vietnam War veteran who discovers his connection to a long legacy of monster hunters and fatefully falls in love with Mary. Unbeknownst to both of them, their love will become the inciting incident for the encroaching apocalypse.