Will Tom Welling's Winchester Role Break Supernatural Canon?

Since was first pitched by Ackles, who is an executive producer on the series, for not adhering to canon. While explores John and Mary's young adult years in much more depth, their lives were also touched upon in , which tells a very different story than the prequel. begins in 1972, which sees Mary's family torn apart as she tries to track down her missing father.

She does this alongside John, who becomes a hunter with her. However, in , John doesn't become a hunter until after Mary's death in 1983. With these changes already in place, there's a chance that Welling's appearance as Samuel on will further twist canon, since the original show already covered some of his whereabouts in the '70s. However, there is still some space where can form its own story.

Despite fears that will deviate significantly from its source series, however, creator Robbie Thompson has reassured fans that . Though the details are still as of yet unclear, Thompson said that the 13th and final episode will explain the ties between the two shows. Some fans theorize that this could mean time travel, alternate universes, or demonic possessions - all of which have been done in

before. However, only six episodes into the prequel series, has changed much of 's canon. This includes Mary and John getting along immediately, John knowing about the world of the supernatural, and John finding out about his Men of Letters history - something that he doesn't find out about until season 14, well after his season 2 death.

With only seven episodes left to go before ' season 1 finale, the prequel has a long way to go to tie up its loose ends.

Not only do John and Mary need to discover what happened to their fathers and stop the Akrida, but the spinoff needs to mend its ties to . With reassurances from both cast and crew, however, there is still plenty of time for questions to be answered, and Welling's appearance as Samuel will go a long way to furthering ' plot, even if it potentially .