The fifth and final season of ‘The Boys‘ is bringing together Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins, and it might be the most shocking crossover the show has ever done. The guy who created both shows, Eric Kripke, finally explained what ties his dark superhero satire to ‘Supernatural‘, the horror series that first put him on the map.
Fans have wondered for years if the two shows share a multiverse, but Kripke said it is not about connected timelines or secret doorways. Instead, it comes down to one simple and stubbornly hopeful idea that he has been writing about for over twenty years. That idea is the power of family.
Eric Kripke Explains The Real Connection Between ‘The Boys’ and ‘Supernatural’
“The theme of a family sticking together through overwhelming odds against an entire world that is against you seems to be something I keep returning to over and over again,” Kripke told CBR.
He said ‘The Boys‘ is not a sequel to ‘Supernatural‘, but both shows run on the same emotional engine. “I’m just really interested in the [central] notion, which is whether it’s your family that you choose or the family you’re born into, however you define your family, that’s the most important thing,” he said.
Kripke’s comments came as ‘The Boys‘ season five brings the ‘Supernatural‘ “found family” back together. Padalecki plays a doomed speedster named Mister Marathon. Collins plays a role they haven’t revealed yet. They join Ackles, who has played Soldier Boy since season three. For Kripke, this casting was not just fan service. It was a reunion of storytellers who all know that surviving depends on loyalty.
What Eric Kripke Says About Family and Fighting Impossible Odds
Kripke added, “As awful things from society or things that seem scary, difficult, or traumatic come at you, the tighter you get together and take care of the people next to you, the better off you’ll all be.”
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That is the same outlook shared by the Winchester brothers and the rogue vigilantes of ‘The Boys‘. When someone asked him how Sam and Dean Winchester would handle the supe-pocalypse in ‘The Boys‘, Kripke did not hesitate.
“I would like to think that [Sam and Dean Winchester] would probably find their way to, you know, if not The Boys, then someone who is The Boys-adjacent,” he said. “They’re used to super-powerful creatures that are sons of b-tches, and I think they would [still be hunters]. I think they would fight the good fight, yeah, absolutely.“
‘The Boys’ Final Season As a Time Capsule of a Turbulent Era
Kripke has said before that both shows are reactions to the times they were made in. ‘Supernatural‘ dealt with urban legends and cosmic horror. ‘The Boys‘ goes after corporate corruption and celebrity culture. As ‘The Boys‘ now heads into its final season, Kripke said he hopes people see the series as an honest snapshot of a messy period.
“I’m really hoping that they think of it as a time capsule and that the world changes and that it’s something that was like ‘that’s what used to be and isn’t anymore,’ and it was a truthful reaction to what was happening at that time,” he explained.
In the end, the real connection is the writer’s own voice. Whether he writes about a 1967 Impala or a crooked Vought executive, Kripke keeps telling the same kind of story: ordinary people fighting monsters that seem unbeatable, with nothing but the family they chose.
“If [The Boys] imparts any lesson,” he said, “I just want [audiences] to understand that no one’s coming to save you, so start taking care of the people next to you because that’s the only way to save the world.”
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