The Winchesters, a prequel series to Supernatural, surprised and delighted fans when Dean Winchester made an appearance, acting as both narrator and mysterious element. The CW series’ lack of Sam Winchester, however, raised concerns with fans, especially after the Twitter beef between Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki. As scandalous as The Winchesters’ beef might have seemed, it is not the reason why Sam isn’t on the show.
When The Winchesters was first picked up by The CW, Jensen Ackles announced it via his Twitter account. Ackles, known for his role as Dean on The CW’s Supernatural, was the main reason for the existence of the prequel series, acting as executive producer alongside his partner, Daneel Ackles, and Robbie Thompson. A response tweeted out by Jared Padalecki, however, let audiences know that he was not at all involved with The Winchesters. Since Padalecki played Sam, Dean’s brother, for 15 seasons of Supernatural, it seemed to be quite a scandalous revelation for fans, and soon Twitter was awash with outcry and concerned responses.
The Twitter Beef Is Not the Reason for Sam’s Exclusion
Though Twitter users went back and forth between the two accounts, sending various GIFs and memes about the “beef,” Ackles and Padalecki squashed it quite quickly. Ackles explained that the series was still very early in its development when the tweets went out, and that is the only reason Padalecki had not been consulted. He went on to describe Padalecki as being like a real sibling to him, which makes complete sense considering the two worked on Supernatural for 15 years. When Padalecki, however, was still excluded from The Winchesters despite its twists, it raised a fair share of concerns, with some fans wondering if the beef had truly been squashed.
Padalecki’s exclusion from The Winchesters Season 1 is due to something far less scandalous than a Twitter beef. Not only did the beef happen about a year and a half before The Winchesters actually began filming, but it also happened to conflict with another of Padalecki’s projects. He had recently been the driving force behind The CW’s Walker, a reboot of the 1990s classic Walker, Texas Ranger, performing as both the lead and executive producer. Unfortunately, the filming for the third season and The Winchesters’ first season seemed to fall within the same period. This is the most likely cause for Padalecki’s Sam Winchester not making an appearance.
Sam Could Still Make an Appearance on The Winchesters
As unfortunate as Padalecki’s exclusion has been for fans of the franchise, “scheduling conflicts” is the best possible reason for it. Knowing that Ackles and Padalecki are as close as they are, and how fond each is of the franchise, it suggests it is only a matter of time before Sam appears alongside Dean on the series. The beef was concerning because it suggested a strained working relationship between the two, but as things usually go, it was a simple matter of life getting in the way. Should The Winchesters have a second season, fans can rest assured knowing Sam will eventually show up, even if just to satiate the swarming masses of reaction GIFs and memes.
The Winchesters might not feature Sam Winchester in its first season, but the spark of brotherhood is still alive. Supernatural’s Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki will always view each other as real siblings, even if Padalecki does not make an appearance on The CW series. Their Twitter beef, while short-lived, worried fans excessively, but it also proved how social media can skew things. The Twitter beef was more a matter of awkward timing than anything else, and the same can be said for why Sam isn’t on The Winchesters.
Source: cbr.com