Jeffrey Dean Morgan on his return to Supernatural for its 300th episode

Supernatural premiered all the way back in 2005 and featured Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki as Dean and Sam Winchester, siblings who banded together to battle the forces of darkness after the disappearance of their father. The Winchester patriarch was played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the character was a very important part of that first year, but Morgan has not occupied the character in the flesh since the second season finale all the way back in 2007. That's all about to change as the actor is set to reprise the role for the upcoming 300th episode of the long-running series.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly recently, Jeffrey Dean Morgan discussed how he returned to the Supernatural family.

Every time a fan asked, I always said the same thing: ‘I’m totally open to returning. It’s about the story.’ Because I’m very good friends with Jensen [Ackles] and Jared [Padalecki], and we’ve talked about it and it was always, ‘Before the show goes off the air, I hope to get on.’ Jensen called and said, ‘Hey would you be interested in doing our 300th?’ I wasn’t going to be working at this time so absolutely, sure.

So I got on the phone with [co-showrunner] Andrew [Dabb] and I said, ‘It’s about story.’ It’s kind of important if you’re going to bring this guy back, there’s gotta be an endgame. The relationships between these three men were so open, so if I was going to come back, it would be nice to have some closure, especially with Sammy. So it went from there, and we worked it out to where we think it’s a good story and a really good way for John to come back into the fold.

Despite so many years away, Jeffrey Dean Morgan says that stepping into the boots of John Winchester was very comfortable, largely thanks to having kept in touch with Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki over the years. "I remember the story and I remember playing with these guys. If I hadn’t been seeing and talking to these guys the last 10 years maybe it would’ve been a little bit more of a nervous situation, but I’ve been doing this a long time. I feel like I’ve been doing it forever and I really haven’t stopped working since I was last on this set. Like a father would be, I’m very proud of the guys," Morgan said.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan added that there's always been a need for closure between the three characters, which they will now finally get to address. "There’s always been a need for closure with these characters and their father, especially with Jared’s character. Kid’s a disaster because of his father apparently. [Laughs]  My thing was always, if I come back, I gotta fix that. There’s gotta be an opportunity to mend that relationship and I think that that’s hopefully what the audience is anticipating," Morgan said. "It feels like we’ve been friends for a lifetime now, getting to reunite in a place that we love and that we met and do what we do and I think that is super cool. So not only does John win in getting to come back and see his boys and Mary again and hopefully make some amends, it’s just as cool for me, the actor, to be able to come back and see everybody." There aren't many TV series which are fortunate enough to reach 300 episodes, but Morgan believes that Supernatural's longevity can be attributed to Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, particularly how they behave behind-the-scenes.

That’s the easiest question. It’s because of those two dudes. It begins and ends with Jensen and Jared. I’ve never seen guys that are here every day — there are not scenes in this show without them, they don’t get time off, they’re here every day, and they have families just like I do. I know how hard it is to be away from my family and I know how grumpy that makes me. They show up every day, they’re not grumpy, they know their sh-t, they’re pros.

And they’re not only all that, but they’re also genuinely nice. Because of that, these crew members that could have gone on to do whatever they want, they stay here for those two guys. They’ve got two great leads that set an example for everyone else and it’s how it should be done. They’re just good guys and I love ’em. That’s the simple answer: It’s because of those two. There’s a couple more [people] that have been here just as long and they’re also equally as great but it really starts with number one and two on the call sheet. They set an example for cast and crew.

The 300th episode of Supernatural, titled "Lebanon," is set to air on February 7, 2019.