The Winchesters: Supernatural prequel adds Bianca Kajlich as Sam and Dean’s grandmother

The CW is continuing to assemble the cast for the pilot episode of The Winchesters, a prequel to Supernatural that will center on young versions of Mary Campbell and John Winchester, the parents of Supernatural monster hunters Sam and Dean. Last week, we learned that Meg Donnelly (American Housewife) will be playing Mary, while Drake Rodger (The In Between) takes on the role of John. Now The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that Bianca Kajlich has signed on to play John’s mother Millie Winchester.

Kajlich has a recurring role on The CW’s Legacies, where she plays Sheriff Machado, and was a series regular on Rules of Engagement, which ran on CBS for seven seasons from 2007 to 2013. Genre fans may also remember her as the heroine from Halloween: Resurrection.

Written by Supernatural alum Robbie Thompson, The Winchesters is told from the perspective of narrator Dean Winchester, voiced by Jensen Ackles. The aim with this show is to tell

the epic, untold love story of how John met Mary and how they put it all on the line to not only save their love but the entire world.

The Winchesters is coming to us from Warner Bros. Television and CBS Studios. Glen Winter (Supergirl) is directing and executive producing the pilot episode.

Donnelly’s Mary Campbell is 19 years old, and “has been fighting the forces of darkness since she was a child. After losing someone close to her, the hardened hunter considers quitting the family business – until her father’s disappearance and the arrival of newcomer John Winchester forces her to lead a new team.” Rodger’s John Winchester has “recently returned from Vietnam. The selfless and clearheaded John finds a new mission back home, where traces of his father’s past lead him to a secret organization and a whole new war as a hunter.”

Kajlich’s character Millie is “hard-working and tough and has done the bulk of parenting in her family for the past 15 years. She has always worried John, a Vietnam veteran, would take after his father and wanted to prevent him from pursuing a dangerous life. She is now coming to grips with the fact that this is exactly what John plans to do.”

Also cast in The Winchesters are Nida Khurshid (Station 19) and newcomer Jojo Fleites. Khurshid’s character is Latika Desai. “Fiercely intelligent and braver than she believes, Latika Desai is a young hunter-in-training whose research and problem-solving skills help her face her fears in battling dark forces.” Fleites will be playing Carlos Cervantez. “Easygoing and confident, Carlos is a natural when it comes to fighting demons and a boost of positivity for the team as it takes on more serious threats.”

This show is being executive produced by Supernatural star Jensen Ackles and his wife Danneel through their company Chaos Machine Productions. Thompson and Winter are also executive producing.

What do you think about Bianca Kajlich playing the mother of John Winchester, and therefore the grandmother of Sam and Dean? Share your thoughts on this prequel project by leaving a comment below.