The Winchesters: Supernaturals Gil McKinney Cast as Henry Winchester

The Winchesters has recruited a familiar face from supernatural: Gil McKinney will reprise his role as Henry Winchester in an upcoming episode of the CW prequel spinoff, TVLine has exclusively learned.

McKinney first appeared as Dean and Sam’s paternal grandfather in a season 8 of supernatural, as he met his future grandchildren about the wonders of time travel. This mission to stop the demon Abaddon ultimately resulted in Henry’s death, leading John to believe his father had abandoned him. A season 9 episode contained flashbacks to Henry’s time in the Men of Letters in 1958.

McKinney will guest star in Episode 7 of The Winchesters. (He has already lent his voice to the show after reading a letter Henry wrote to John in the series premiere.) In the spin-off, Henry is “the intellectual patriarch of the Winchester clan,” according to the official character description. “Coming from a long line of literary figures, Henry dedicated his life wholeheartedly to the institution. However, when a scholarly mission results in Henry’s untimely death, his absence and the secrecy of his life within the organization causes an irreparable rift in his family.”

During an interview with TVLine, showrunner Robbie Thompson confirmed fans could expect to see some supernatural Vets in the back half of the first 13 episodes, “which I’m super, super excited for,” he said. Additionally, “We have plans to bring back not just some of our familiar faces, but younger versions of the characters that we may not have seen before,” Thompson shared during a virtual press panel.

On the other side of the family tree, that was recently announced at New York Comic Con Kleinville Vet Tom Welling will be portrayed as Samuel Campbell (originally played by Mitch Pileggi in supernatural), Mary Campbell’s father and Dean and Sam’s maternal grandfather.

The Winchesters airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW.