Supernatural prequel horror series The Winchesters has already had an appearance from Jensen Ackles, and now more familiar faces are due. Well, one in particular: Richard Speight Jr is returning to reprise his role of Loki for the TV series.
Speaking to TV Insider, showrunner Robbie Thompson stated it was really a matter of time. “I think it was in New Orleans actually when we were shooting episode 2, so I wasn’t in the writer’s room, obviously,” he states. “But I was reading their notes and was like, ‘Hey, wait a minute…’, and then I just got really, really excited because it felt like [they’d come up with] an opportunity for us to welcome a friend that we’ve seen before, but maybe not in a way that folks are expecting.”
In the fantasy series, Speight was a recurring guest over a dozen Supernatural episodes as the archangel Gabriel and Loki. A sort of anti-villain, Gabriel is the youngest of four celestial siblings and mostly looks out for himself until he sacrifices himself towards the end to fight the archangel, Michael.
Gabriel, and Speight Jr’s performance, always brought an emotional wrinkle to proceedings since he’s all-powerful, but treated so poorly by other nigh-omnipotent beings that his confidence is shot. Power and self-worth are always relative.
Speight Jr was always involved in The Winchesters, as he’s taking the director’s chair for a few episodes in the season. Sounds like that was part of some deeper plans. Curiously, the creators have spoken about how The Winchesters will tie into the Supernatural timeline, and this could be one of the key ways it all comes together.
Let’s see how the drama series unfolds. The Winchesters airs Tuesdays into January on The CW.