Comic-Con 2016: Supernatural reveals Sam's fate

Supernatural fans, rejoice: Sam Winchester lives!

The last we left the Winchesters, God and Amara had found peace — and disappeared to somewhere unknown — leaving behind a present for Dean (Jensen Ackles): Mary Winchester (Samantha Smith) is back from the dead! And yet, Sam (Jared Padalecki) might not be around to see her. When Sam returned home to the bunker, he met a Woman of Letters, and when he tried to approach her, the episode ended with a gunshot.

During Supernatural‘s Comic-Con panel on Sunday, Padalecki was on hand to assure fans that Sam is back in season 12. “Thankfully, Sam Winchester is alive,” he said. “Because he’s not a lose-chester.”

In season 12, we’ll get more info about the woman who shot Sam, who is a member of the British Men of Letters. “We find out more about the Men of Letters and their worldwide society,” Padalecki said. “We’ll learn more about what she wants and what they want. Obviously she and Sam didn’t start out on the right foot. From the looks of things in the promo, [in which Sam is being tortured], we see they’re not off to a great start, but we don’t know why or what happens.”

But the arrival of Mary was an even bigger topic during the panel, with Smith joining the boys on stage. “It certainly presents a dynamic that we haven’t had ever,” Ackles said. “The interesting thing is when Mom left, Sam was a baby and Dean was a child. The children that she knew are now men, so the relationship was nonexistent. It’s going to be an interesting situation of them trying to bridge that massive gap that occurred over the past 30-odd years. It also brings into question how is she going to plug herself into their lives? Is that going to leave the brothers vulnerable?” For instance, the baddies could use Mary, who also used to be a hunter, to hurt the boys.

“There’s a lot to consider,” Smith said. “Being dead, now alive with a big gap in the middle. My sons are now older and taller than I am. I’ve always loved Mary and to be able to experience her from a whole different perspective is incredibly fun for me. To not just be passing through as a ghost is actually really fun. It could go anywhere, so I’m having a good time with that.”

Castiel (Misha Collins) knows how important Mary is in the origin story of the Winchester brothers and has “a very cool dynamic” with her, according to executive producer Andrew Dabb. “There’s an interesting dynamic between the two of us, because in a way we’re outsiders and we’re sharing something in that,” Collins said, adding that Cas has his mojo back this season. “Cas is back to a little bit of Cas from season 4. He’s angry, and he’s in a fighting spirit. He’s after Lucifer. Now that Mary is back, he’s also tattletaling a lot.”

“We’ve still got Lucifer out there, so there’s a hunt for Lucifer,” executive producer Bob Singer said, noting that this season is going back to basics. “You don’t get bigger than God. This year we can’t top all that… [We’re going to] tell smaller stories, some good old-fashioned horror stories. We’ve set up the British Men of Letters; they’ll be part of what we’re doing.”

Speaking of Lucifer, he’s going to be trying out a number of different vessels when the show returns. “The first vessel he feels comfortable with is a rockstar,” Singer said. “His name is Vince Vincente. We’ll be seeing him in a couple episodes early on.” That rockstar will be portrayed by musician Rick Springfield.

Supernatural returns Thursday, Oct. 13 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.

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