In 2025, Eric Kripke is one of the biggest names in television. He’s the showrunner of Prime Video’s The Boys, a satirical superhero show that isn’t afraid to turn the gore meter up to eleven. Kripke probably appreciates all the freedom that comes with making a streaming show, as his claim to fame in the early 2000s was creating a popular network series, Supernatural. Running for 15 seasons on The CW, the show was a massive success, and many of its stars, including Jensen Ackles, have gone on to have great careers. Several Supernatural alums will even reunite in Season 5 of The Boys. However, there was a time when that wasn’t going to matter nearly as much because Kripke was going to end Supernatural much earlier.
The original plan for the series that followed two monster hunters, Sam and Dean Winchester, was to end it after five seasons. Supernatural‘s fifth season sees Sam get dragged to Hell after a lengthy battle with Lucifer. Dean promises his brother that he will let him go through with his sacrifice, and without his partner, he decides to pursue a relationship with Lisa, an old flame. Of course, Dean can’t leave well enough alone in Season 6 and works to get his brother back. Had Kripke gone with his original plan, though, Dean would’ve eventually given up and turned his attention to a different problem.
During an appearance on the Supernatural: Then and Now podcast (via The Direct), Kripke spilled the beans about what almost happened in the show’s final moments. “So, the way the ending was supposed to go is Sam goes into Hell, Dean works his ass off to try and get him out in a montage similar to what is there but ultimately can’t because Dean’s big emotional movement was that he had to learn to let go of his brother,” he said. “Now, the fact is that his brother is being tortured in Hell. When we came up with it, we weren’t quite so specific. We didn’t have anything like that. Remember, we had Dean in that Hellraiser chain world. And so I think it was probably like more like, ‘Oh, where did he go, but I’m gonna let him go.’”
Kripke went on to explain that Dean would’ve had a baby girl with Lisa named Samantha, who found herself thrust into the family business after witnessing a familiar sight. “And then a dark figure comes over the crib, and it goes back to the teaser of Supernatural,” he continued. “Then it’s like a hard blackout, and there’s a strong implication that it’s all gonna start all over again. So, Dean is gonna become John, and Samantha is gonna be the new demon hunter… I meant to end it with a big question mark. ‘Oh, this story is going to continue.’”
While Kripke wasn’t specific about whether The CW was prepared to greenlight a sequel series, even if they hadn’t, he would have been doing himself a favor with the alternate ending because the one that came in Season 15 has received its fair share of backlash.
The Original Ending of Supernatural Gave Dean Winchester a Happy Ending
One of the complaints after Supernatural‘s finale aired was that it did Dean dirty. After years and years of fighting terrifying monsters and angelic figures, a run-of-the-mill vampire gets the best of him. He tells Sam he’s ready to go, and his younger brother respects his wishes. Sam goes off and lives a full life until he passes away from natural causes and meets Dean in Heaven.
It’s not exactly out of character for Sam to let his brother go, as he’s usually the one looking to leave hunting behind. However, subverting expectations isn’t always a terrible option, and there’s a decent chance the idea of Dean having a family would’ve been embraced. There’s no way to know for sure, though, because the show decided to keep carrying on until Season 15.
Supernatural is streaming on Netflix.
How do you feel about Eric Kripke’s original ending to Supernatural? Does it sound better than what happened in Season 15? Let us know in the comments below!
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