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Eric Kripke seems just as excited to see us as we are to see him when he joins us at the press roundtable at Comic Con. With three years of promoting Supernatural under his belt, Kripke’s become an expert at saying an awful lot while actually giving away very little. He begins with a typical tease when one of the reporters brings up Jensen Ackles’ continued employment on the series now that his character has been banished to hell.
“Shockingly…no [he's not returning],” says Kripke. “He’s going to be on Gossip Girl. Yeah, we’re making a trade, we’re doing a hostage exchange.”
Not that Jensen wouldn’t fit in nicely amongst the pretty people of the Upper East Side, but I’m not sure Chace Crawford is Winchester material.
Okay, fine. Kripke admits that he’s only joking about Ackles’ departure. (Can you imagine the fan uproar if it turned out to be true?)
“Dean gets out of hell. We knew that day one in the writer’s room. So we said, let’s not be coy about it. Lets get him out of hell but let’s get him out mysteriously and lets have one of the big questions be, ‘how did he get out and who got him out and why’? And so we quickly get past what everyone knows and we get onto the things that they don’t know.”
And it’s that ‘don’t know’ part that is scaring fans already. Less than a month into filming, spoilers have seeped into the fandom. Attempts were made to mask the “sides” that always make their way on to the Internet. Names were changed and large sections were blanked out but fans weren’t fooled. They know their Winchesters. Thanks to the writing team on Supernatural, the boys’ voices are so familiar it’s easy to tell who’s speaking without any name designation at all. And it’s this familiarity that Kripke wants to mess with for the sake of exploring new territory with the brothers, something they haven’t been able to do since the first season.
“We’re really giggling like schoolgirls in the writer’s room,” says Kripke, an image I find to be more than a little disturbing. “[Sam and Dean] are always so on top of each other. It’s like they know what each other’s thinking. [Now we] pick up the series four months later and let the boys surprise each other again, have them keeping secrets from each other again, and have reveals about who they are and what happened in this four months that they were apart.”
Turning Sam and Dean’s relationship on its ear is a big enough change for Supernatural fans, but Kripke has more in store.
“We try not to be formulaic and we try to keep people guessing. It’s like the way Bruce Willis finally got to do what he wanted when he made ‘Hudson Hawk,’ so I’m going to make Season Four of Supernatural. It’s gonna rock! The third episode is a completely black-and-white throwback to the Universal monster movies of the 30′s, so that’ll be cool. The fourth episode is a time travel episode where they go back and meet their parents when they were younger. And we just came up with this episode; Ben Edlund is writing it, it’s like insane on a level that is even for us insane, where a town has a wishing well and everyone’s wishes are coming true. There may or may not be a seven-foot-tall, talking teddy bear in it, we’re not sure yet.”
A seven-foot-tall, talking teddy bear, maybe, but there won’t be a chupacabra anywhere in sight.
“Dude, we can’t afford a chupacabra unless the chupacabra looks like a person who says, ‘I’m a chupacabra.” A sentence that would sound so out of place coming from anyone but him.
“We learned really early, after the wendigo episode, don’t mount creatures you can’t afford to produce. They’re just gonna look stupid. Do it well or don’t do it, is the plan. That’s why there have been no chupacabras, that’s why our werewolves have yellow eyes and fangs and are otherwise human. Every so often there’s off-camera references to the chupacabra two states over and that’s where’ll they live.”
And as definite as he is about no chupacabras, he’s also standing by his oft-quoted statement about ending the show in five years.
“I think no one believes me, but I really feel like that would be a favor to the fans. Better to have, ‘wow that was great and what a satisfying ending’ rather than literally jumping sharks and bringing in Raven Simone to play the cute, little, adopted orphan and weddings in Hawaii. I feel Buffy did it pretty well. You know it ended and that was a great final episode. Never say never I guess, [but] at this point Jensen, Jared and my contracts are all up at year five and I’d rather just go out bold. So that’s MY plan.”
And, for now, he’s sticking to it. In Kripke’s mind, Supernatural isn’t a TV show told over five seasons, it’s one long movie and that’s the way he’s been writing it in his head.
“Beginnings are easy because you’re launching everything. Endings are easy. The middle’s kinda shitty and hard to write.”
Which takes him back to Season Three, brutally shortened by a writer’s strike that left his team scrambling to fit in the mythology before the final curtain.
“I have mixed feelings about Season Three. I think we had some great episodes, but I feel it was probably my least favorite season. I think that’s because it’s the middle and it’s that weird transition point. Now pieces are falling back and momentum is starting to build again towards something, so I think it’s actually been a real magnifying focus on our energy.”
Yes, he’s positive in that. Whatever adversity they had last year, be it the sagging middle blues or the effects of the writer’s strike, that’s all behind them.
“I think we’ve got a exciting season in store. We’re doing what we want to do and we’re doing it without compromise. I’m excited for the fans. They might say, ‘Kripke’s gone total bat-shit and it’s terrible, but I’m entertained by it. It’s something I like and so we’ll see if everyone else likes it and if not … well, go watch Grey’s.”
Not a chance, boss. Not a chance.
Photo credits (all): Mitch Haddad/Warner Bros. Television Entertainment.
(L-R) Executive Producer Eric Kripke, Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles at the Comic-Con “Supernatural² panel discussion on 7/27/08.
I love supernatural
pleaseeee, anieee, shut up, meeeercy, get a life!!!!
desde ARGENTINA los amamos lo massssssssssss
SUPERNATURAL
Eric Kripke says the writers are giggling like schoolgirls in the writers room, can we PLEASE have some of that on screen for the coming season. Season 3 was one paced and all the fun had gone from the show (apart from Mystery Spot which made me laugh out loud), it was angst, angst and more angst. He has two wonderful young actors who are great at deep emotion but brilliant at comedy, we need more of that.
With regards to Dean, can we have a break from endless scenes of him stuffing his mouth full of food, it started by being mildly amusing but now is just irritating and boring.
Also becoming tedious is the sight of the brothers pinned against walls and demons coming out of peoples mouths.
Hoping for better in Season 4 or I think this wonderful show (Season 1&2 ) is dead in the water
I would like to say that I have never been disappointed by supernatural. I have enjoyed all 3 seasons and I am very much looking forward to the 4th season. I am so thankful for a show that is not about teenagers. I think alot of us over 30 really needed a show like supernatural. It is scary and creepy, but at the same time has a dam good story line. Not to mention Jensen is very easy on the eyes.
where is the “report” of the shoulder bump greeting–i didn’t see her post/interview?
season 3 was great katie was great lauren was great season 4 is going to suck
I did complain many times last year at the beginning mainly because of Katie Cassidy. I like where the story is going. I too think that at the end by season 5 ….that Dean will be faced with the very painful decision to …of do I kill Sam my brother ,or do I not kill him? Jared stated at Supernova that he felt that Dean will at the very end be forced to kill his brother….because he won’t be able to save him. I myself at the end of season 5 (who according to Kripke ) will be the END…of his series …would like to see Sam and Dean go out like ”Butch and The Sundance Kid”, guns a blarring?
shelby02, I totally agree with you!
” However Dean fans have been in the same spot many times over the last 3 seasons, unhappy with how things are going for Dean and they have not kept quiet about it so its kind of hypocritical of them to keep shutting sam fans down. ”
I don’t think so. Because Sam fans are getting much of what they wanted in the spoilers that have been released. They’ve been complaining about Sam’s character development and a major theme of the spoilers for Sam have focused on character development. Whereas during the past 3 seasons a major part of the complaints was about Dean’s lack of primary connection to the mythology and in the past seasons none of that was ever rectified, thus we continued to complain.
Why should we believe Kripke now, we certainly don’t have any more reason to believe him than Sam fans do but most of us are choosing to take him at his word and to wait and see what happens and be positive about the new season(at least that part of it). And Sam’s spoilers this season are a lot of better than “sex and cheeseburgers” for Dean last season.
So the spoilers for Sam it seems to me are focusing on exactly what most Sam fans have had as their main complaint – characterization and emotional follow through, while still pointing out that they are finally moving ahead with explaining why Sam, what’s the connection with Mary, etc. Yet here they are still complaining.
It *would* have been hypocritical if Dean fans had just gotten the news of the mythology upgrade and then complained about how Sam was getting all this great emotional stuff and meanwhile Dean doesn’t even going to remember what had happened to him and you know Kripke, he’ll probably completely drop the ball following that up, it’ll end up being a one episode thing to get it out of the way sometime around mid-season.
i love the interview.
for fangirls i beg u all please stop messed up with Dean(Jensen) n sam (Jared).
and for all Supernatural fans just ignore someone who post negative article or they saying like this ” i hope kripke praise jared this time or something like that”.
i called it Stupid girlfans or bad fans.
they just concern about what they like.
i concern with supernatural, because if this always happen it will make Supernatural Bad name or it will lose the new viewers.
I’m starting sick of this kind of fandom.
just support ours show or u lose it because of u all bad fans.
lets trust our Supernatural to Kripke hope he can make Supernatural to the next level for something more awesome.
Oops – there was a typo in my post, I meant to say…”but that does NOT invalidate the fact that this is what they believe”
Cynthia,
Thank you so much for the clarification. I don’t think it was you, it was more than likely me LOL. Thank you again for responding.
Also, thank you so much for writing such wonderful comments about the show and its creator. It is greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the interview with Eric! I thought the GG hostage exchange bit was funny (reminds me at the end of Season 3 when Eric also JOKINGLY said that Jensen wasn’t coming back, but they were bringing in Chad Michael Murray from “One Tree Hill” as a replacement …).
[and if anyone was thinking that Eric was somehow favoring Jensen's looks over Jared's looks ... I think you're being oversensitive ... both jokes from Kripke have only come up because of Dean's storyline ... and, imo, although different in looks, both guys are handsome .. AND aside from looks, both guys are wonderful actors!!]
Since the “cliffhanger” at the end of Season 3 was the “OMG what’s about Dean?” – it is natural that a lot of interest is going to be on getting into that initially for the start of Season 4. I’m glad that they’re going to unfold the “good stuff” over time – should make things much more interesting.
I agree that I don’t want the brother’s relationship to change TOO much – not to the extent that we don’t recognize it anymore. Same as I don’t want what they’ve experienced to create complete character overhauls … afterall, these are the guys and relationship that we’ve all grown to love. It is also the guys and relationship that the writers & producers have grown to love too … which is what I keep telling myself as Season 4 gets closer.
That, and this should just mean some GREAT acting from both J & J – which is why I tune in each week (because they breathe life into the characters and stories).
Oh, by the way, did you interview everyone on the SN panel, Cynthia? If so, I can’t wait to hear what the others have to say!!!
So I’m in a bad mood, and I was going to watch some South Park for the lulz, but since reading the comments, it’s apparant that I don’t have to. You guys getting into your bitch fits is all I need for a chuckle.
Excellent interview Cynthia, and I’m all fired up for Season 4, and I’m really hoping Kripke and Co has learned from their mistakes, namely Rubella.
Well, I don’t trust Kripke very much when it comes to show execution, but I do give him props for always being so excited by what he’s doing.
I NEVER SAID I DIDN’T LIKE JENSEN….SO DON’T PUT WORDS IN MY WRITING…and Kripke himself did say that the boys relationship would be turned upside down….and as for Supernatural I have been seeing the series since day one September 13th 2005…and have purchased both season 1 and season 2 DVD.S and being a beginer fan of the series I was lucky to even get a letter from Kripke himself the master writer asking me to always watch the show and support…and I do….but I ALSO express my feelings and unlike other fans ….I’am not def, dumb or blind like some of the immature giddy girls…especially Ackles fans who were crying because Kripke joked that Jensen wasn’t coming back this season ….when I knew he was 100% or jARED GIRLS ALREADY CRYING FOUL because Kripke jokingly added a love interest to Sammy. The fans that criticize the most tend to know the least.
Well…..I blame Rubella on the network, not the
Supernatural producers.
And, I agree with Kripke…..there were some incredible eps like “Dream a little Dream”….”Mystery Spot”…and the season finale…..but there’s no question that the writer’s strike did do damage to the season.
The only obvious praise that Kripke had for Jensen, that I could see, was that he could fit in with the Gossip Girl crowd…..(although I feel he’s too cool for them, but I digress). I really don’t think that was any extra praise, that he wouldn’t give Jared, but a joke about Jensen coming back next season.
I am assuming that when the spoilers came out before season 3 about Dean and the sex and cheeseburgers that Dean fans just took it in their stride and were more than happy to wait and see how the season panned out before complaining right? Of course not. I have followed all the con reports and interviews and it does seem to me that there is a major focus on Dean at least for the earlier part of the season. Yes there have been some good spoilers for Sam also but the major focus is Dean. For the record I am really happy that Dean is being included in the Mytharc – I hope this will result in that sl finally going somewhere and will also leave room for the Sam character development that we have been told is coming. The problem for Sam fans I think is that they don’t really trust Kripke to follow through on this – he has not really done a good job of this in the past so we are nervous. That combined with the Dean centric focus results in this uproar I guess you could call it, which unfortunately makes many sam fans look bad. However Dean fans have been in the same spot many times over the last 3 seasons, unhappy with how things are going for Dean and they have not kept quiet about it so its kind of hypocritical of them to keep shutting sam fans down. And finally just because you don’t see what sam fans see does not mean its not there right? I have never understood how Dean fans can say the first 3 seasons have been all about Sam but that does invalidate the fact that this is what they believe – and they have the right to just as Sam fans are entitled to their view point.