Jared Padalecki is going from demon hunting to uh, perpetrator hunting in a Walker, Texas Ranger reboot. Yes, that Walker, Texas Ranger, the one that starred Chuck Norris for nine seasons.
E! News has learned Padalecki is set to play the title character in the updated version Walker that’s in development by CBS TV Studios. The Supernatural star is also attached to executive produce alongside Anna Fricke, Dan Lin, Lindsey Libertore and Dan Spilo. No network is attached at this time.
Padalecki, whose CW series Supernatural is coming to an end in 2020 after 15 seasons, will play Cordell Walker, a widowed father of two after spending years undercover on a high-profile case. When he returns home to Austin, Texas, he finds there’s more work to be done. He’ll be paired with a female partner, as was the case in the original. That casting has not been announced.
The new series will follow a modern-day Walker and Texas Rangers who have their own moral code and fight for what’s right, despite any rules that may get in their way.
Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic/CBS Photo Archive
The original Walker, Texas Ranger ran for nine seasons on CBS from 1993-2001. A TV movie followed in 2005.
Before Supernatural, Padalecki was known to legions of fans as Dean on Gilmore Girls. Along with costars Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins, Padalecki decided season 15 of Supernatural would be the last. Despite producers insisting it’s a true ending, Ackles hinted you haven’t seen the last of the Winchester brothers.
“I think they’ll continue to move forward, but this is just a long journey that I don’t think is ever going to be over. I think we’re just going to go away for a while. How long? I don’t know,” Ackles said at the 2019 Television Critics Association press tour.
“Look I’m not ever ready to close doors or burn bridges, I think that’s foolish. Am I saying that there’s something in the works? No,” Ackles said when asked if something was in development already. “Am I saying that I’d be open having a conversation about this in the future? What’s the harm in that?”
Supernatural returns Thursday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. on The CW.