Before Dean and Sam Winchester, there was Mary Campbell and John Winchester. Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger are teaming up for The Winchesters, the origin story of Dean and Sam’s parents. This will be a supernatural love story of epic proportions. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Meg and Drake about the beginnings of Mary and John’s relationship.
“I think it’s really interesting when they meet. He’s coming into the hunting world, and I want to leave,” Meg said at HollywoodLife’s New York Comic portrait studio. “So I think that’s really an interesting dynamic from the jump. He’s coming in, and she’s leaving. But at the same time, they have these sparks that kind of fly.”
Drake added, “They’re on two crossing paths. When we link up, it’s like, oh, this could work but she wants out, I want in. She wants the life that I kind of had, and I want the life that she has, so it’s kind of like we just miss each other.”
The series begins just as John returns home from the Vietnam War, and Drake admitted that John isn’t “adjusting” to life back home. “He’s suffering from PTSD, and I think he found an outlet in which he can live out a little bit of that rage and a little bit of that twisted fantasy,” Drake continued. “Not only can you live it out, but he’s also celebrated for doing it. It’s a good thing when you kill demons. It’s a good thing when you kill vampires, but I think for him, it’s a little bit darker, it’s a little bit deeper. I don’t think he’s adjusting at all. He’s just coping.”
John and Mary’s monster fighting club will also include Latika and Carlos, played by Nida Khurshid and Jojo Fleites. “They are incredible additions to our crew,” Meg told HollywoodLife. “Latika is kind of the brains behind the operation. She knows all of the monster lore. She works at a library, and she’s not about violence at all, but she wants to save people’s lives. She kind of lets the hunters do the hunting part, and she is kind of the brains and puts the pieces together. She’s a really important character. Without giving any spoilers away, her backstory is really beautiful and incredible. I’m excited for people to see her backstory. Also, she gets tied in because of Mary’s dad, Samuel, who is missing, which is why they’re kind of all banding together. He kind of helped raise Carlos and Latika in their lives, so that’s kind of their motivation.”
She added, “Carlos is the most eccentric, amazing character who has this badass fighter, his whole family was killed by ghouls, so he’s just seeking revenge and adding fun and light.”
The Winchesters takes place decades before Dean and Sam’s journey on Supernatural. Meg noted that it’s “been an honor to fill in context with people. What we always say is we’re not trying to rewrite or change anything about the mothership, but we’re just trying to add context and give more of the story, and also hoping for a younger generation to kind of get into the world of Supernatural because it can be a really fun show on its own. But at the same time, once you watch this, you can get excited and watch Supernatural as well. Also, one of the fans at Comic Con was saying it’s so cool that this has been our show for a huge part of our lives, and now we get to go back into the world again in such a fun way that’s new and exciting.”
Jensen Ackles, who starred as Dean Winchester on Supernatural for all 15 seasons, is one of the executive producers of the series. He also narrates the series as Dean.
“He’s a mentor, beyond just entertainment. He’s an incredible actor, and he’s just the most humble earth guy you’ve ever met,” Drake said. “So he’s been a resource on Supernatural and just being on set. He gave us his phone number on day one, so we’ve been able to reach out with anything. He gives pretty fantastic advice.” The Winchesters will air Tuesdays on The CW.