History WhatCouldHaveBeen / Supernatural

* Creator/EricKripke's original idea for the show was more like equal parts ''X-Files'' and ''Scooby-Doo''. It was originally an anthology series about two tabloid reporters who travel around in a van fighting demons. Then, after the show got reworked into what we now know and love, it was originally "Sal and Dean Harrison" travelling around in a '65 Mustang. The names were changed for legal reasons (as was their father's, which was originally Jack) and the car was changed because a friend suggested an Impala is a rougher, more aggressive-looking car (and because it's easier to fit a body in the trunk).

* Jo, originally named Alex, was meant to be Dean's LoveInterest, the writers' first attempt at a recurring one for either brother. Their efforts can be seen in the first few episodes of the season. [[DryDocking Unprecedented]] [[TheScrappy negative]] [[DieForOurShip reaction]] made them keep the brothers away from the Roadhouse until they wrote Jo out indefinitely in "No Exit", and they were reluctant to try it again for years because of how thoroughly their attempt with Jo was disliked by the fans, preferring to write well-received female antagonists like Meg instead and directly resulting in the creation of Ruby in Season 3. The writers also added in the idea that Dean only saw Jo as a little sister figure instead of a love interest because that's how she came off as to many fans, which the writers had ended up agreeing with. They brought the character back in "Born Under a Bad Sign" to [[PanderingToTheFanbase quash the idea of a romance between Jo and Dean]], though the ship wasn't entirely sunk: Kripke and Alona Tal got the last laugh in "Abandon All Hope...", with Jo brought back in Season 5 for a send-off in which Dean hit on her and then later gave her a heartfelt kiss during her HeroicSacrifice. As Jo TookALevelInBadass for her return, fans were more forgiving of it.

* Demons were not planned to need to possess people; they were supposed to be part-corporeal, part-incorporeal creatures who manifested themselves on Earth, hence why John suggested in "Salvation" that Meg was "either" a demon or possessed by one. After having the demonic MonsterOfTheWeek possess different hosts in "Phantom Traveler" however, they eventually made it part of the demonic standard because it was more interesting. There was other parts of demon lore from "Phantom Traveler" that [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness were dropped from the current versions]] -- most glaringly, the word ''Christo'' was supposed to make demons reveal themselves (and still survives somewhat in fandom) and would've come in handy at multiple points (perhaps most of all in "Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox"), but was not used further by the writers because it killed the suspense of who was a demon.

* Jess lived in that same script and the network wanted her to stay, but Eric thought that one of the main characters having a long-term, stay-at-home girlfriend wouldn't work for a roadshow about two brothers. (Apparently, the idea that she could come with them and become a hunter herself didn't occur to him.) Then the network suggested that he have her turn out to be a demon manipulating him, but he didn't use that either, preferring the idea of Mary and Jessica being murdered in the same manner as BookEnds. He did use a variation of the latter concept when he introduced Jessica' ''real'' killer in "The Devil You Know" -- a college friend of Sam and Jessica's who became possessed by one of Azazel's minions and manipulated Sam into going back to hunting by tricking him into falling for Jess and then killing her in front of him.

* The writers wanted to bring Nicki Aycox back to play Meg in Season 5, but couldn't figure out a good way to justify ''why'' she'd come back in that body (which, at that point, had been dead and buried for ''four years'' in-universe) and so decided that they had to recast. If Aycox had come back instead, it's possible that Meg wouldn't have been killed off, as Rachel Miner (who was ultimately cast) was seemingly unable to continue playing her due to her illness, and the character was killed off rather than recast.

!'''Warning: Due to the timeframe since past episodes have aired, spoilers up to Season 12 may be unmarked. If you have not watched up to Season 13, proceed with caution!'''

* An earlier draft of the script for "Pilot" included as a DVD extra on the Season 1 boxset depicted Sam and Dean as not originally raised hunters and having more years with their parents -- Sam was 9, Dean 13 -- before Mary was killed in a car accident caused by a demon, after which they were raised by an aunt and uncle instead of John. John was a lone hunter, Dean later found out the truth and joined him, and Sam thought they were both nuts until he was forced to see the supernatural himself. John was also killed in the pilot episode, instead of Jessica. Considering the angst their upbringing caused them in the show and how it's turned out to influence their personalities and neuroses, it's bizarre to think of the boys living that apple-pie life as children without knowledge of the supernatural, and being new to hunting.

* The role of Ruby was originally meant for Creator/KristenBell.

* Early plans for Season 3 had Gordon finding out about Sam's [[StartOfDarkness actions]] in "Born Under a Bad Sign" while possessed by Meg (though it's unclear if he would have known about that part, or even cared if he had) and rounding up a posse of fellow hunters to hunt Sam down. Because Sterling K. Brown was contracted to ''Series/ArmyWives'' and they'd only let him appear for two more episodes, the ''Supernatural'' writers were forced to heavily condense Gordon's storyline by having him convince one hunter to help him, break out from prison, and find and get killed by Sam after getting turned into a vampire.
* [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] (and not a CaptainErsatz) was originally going to appear in "Dream a Little Dream of Me". So was John Winchester, an apparition of whom would confront Dean during the climax. Unfortunately, Jeffrey Dean Morgan wasn't available at the time, so they replaced him with Creator/JensenAckles and did the "I'm my own worst nightmare" thing instead, making his dream even more depressing; canceling out his assertion of self-esteem while he was saying it. They went as far as securing the rights to use Jason when a few days before filming started, the studio they got the rights from realized ''they didn't actually own the rights'' and the writers had to come up with a new scene in which Sam has an EroticDream about Bela to replace Jason's airtime.[[note]]Funnily enough, [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]] already got a ShoutOut in the episode, so ''had'' Jason appeared, both horror icons would've been referenced in the episode; five years before the episode, they'd already had a [[Film/FreddyVsJason crossover film]] together![[/note]]
* The biggest of them all: had season 3 gotten a full 22 episodes, Sam would have discovered a way to save Dean from his deal, and the entire angel mythology never would have come into the show (as Kripke had repeatedly shot down the concept before because he preferred the idea of God working through hunters) -- meaning no Cas, which would result in a ''very'' different ''Supernatural'' than we know today. "Mystery Spot" and "Jus in Bello" were the last episodes created with the original plan in mind, and the writer's strike allowed for only 4 more episodes to wrap up the season. Because they couldn't develop Sam's powers in that time, this forced a change of plans and they decided to kill Dean and send him to Hell instead, not only resulting in Cas and other angels being introduced to bring him back into play but also introducing LoveToHate villain Alastair as Dean's personal tormentor and a darker character turn for Dean himself. Sam would've tapped into his powers earlier out of desperation to save Dean instead of after Dean is already gone and Sam grieving, and how a darkly empowered Sam would've played out in these circumstances is unknown. As angels were not originally planned but Lucifer was (according to Kripke's 5-year plan), it also isn't known how that character would've been implemented. While unconfirmed it is likely Lilith's and Ruby's original EvilPlan was also changed because of the writer's strike and plot changes -- there is no mention of seal-breaking in Season 3 and Lilith and her minions don't not mention Lucifer as their endgame. While Ruby was said to always have been planned to be a HiddenAgendaVillain and likely always meant to be trying to carry on Azazel's plan, given Lilith's multiple attempts to kill Sam in Season 3 she and Ruby were likely not originally supposed to be working together but rather [[EvilVersusEvil rival factions]], which would've fit the writer's original plan for chaos and multiple factions in the demonic world. ''[[ForWantOfANail Whew]]''.
* The writer's strike also prevented Ellen's return until Season 5; she was supposed to appear in at least two episodes in Season 3, but the strike forced the first episode she would've returned in to be dropped and Samantha Ferris rejected an offer to return in the finale instead, in part because she feared [[AnyoneCanDie her character would be killed off]]. Whether she would've is unknown but definitely a possibility since they apparently weren't able to reassure Ferris otherwise. Since Jo was not mentioned as supposed to return as well alongside her mom, Ellen would've probably been brought back after losing the Roadhouse and ''still'' not reunited with her MIA daughter. Both characters missed Season 3 and Season 4 entirely, reuniting offscreen and returning for two episodes in Season 5 as experienced hunting partners.
* Katie Cassidy's departure from the role of Ruby was not planned; according to Kripke it was budget cuts, according to Cassidy she left on her own because the studio didn't know what they wanted to do with Ruby. This happened right as fans were warming up to Cassidy's portrayal of Ruby, and they were even more displeased with her successor than they were with Cassidy herself, as Genevieve Cortese was instructed to play the character completely differently and regarded as less skilled than Cassidy, and it was difficult to see the two incarnations as the same character. Had Cassidy remained in the role and continued to play Ruby as aggressive and action-oriented as she had in Season 3, or even had Cortese been instructed to retain more of Cassidy's portrayal of the character, the Season 4 incarnation would likely have received less backlash. It worked out great for [[RomanceOnTheSet Jared and Genevieve Padalecki]], though.

* John (as played by Creator/JeffreyDeanMorgan) [[http://www.ew.com/article/2011/04/15/supernatural-john-winchester-almost-returned/ was at one point considered to be brought back]] in the AlternateUniverse instead of Ellen in "My Heart Will Go On". Concerns that they wouldn't be able to secure the return of the actor played a part in it not going through.

* The biggest of them all: had season 3 gotten a full 22 episodes, Sam would have discovered a way to save Dean from his deal, and the entire angel mythology never would have come into the show (as Kripke had repeatedly shot down the concept before because he preferred the idea of God working through hunters) -- meaning no Cas, which would result in a ''very'' different ''Supernatural'' than we know today. "Mystery Spot" and "Jus in Bello" were the last episodes created with the original plan in mind, and the writer's strike allowed for only 4 more episodes to wrap up the season. Because they couldn't develop Sam's powers in that time, this forced a change of plans and they decided to kill Dean and send him to Hell instead, not only resulting in Cas and other angels being introduced to bring him back into play but also introducing LoveToHate villain Alastair as Dean's personal tormentor and a darker character turn for Dean himself. Sam would've tapped into his powers earlier out of desperation to save Dean instead of after Dean is already gone and Sam grieving, and how a darkly empowered Sam would've played out in these circumstances is unknown. As angels were not originally planned but Lucifer was (according to Kripke's 5-year plan), it also isn't known how that character would've been implemented. While unconfirmed it is likely Lilith's and Ruby's original EvilPlan was also changed because of the writer's strike and plot changes -- there is no mention of seal-breaking in Season 3 and Lilith and her minions don't not mention Lucifer as their endgame. While Ruby was said to always have been planned to be a HiddenAgendaVillain and likely always meant to be trying to carry on Azazel's plan, given Lilith's multiple attempts to kill Sam in Season 3 she and Ruby were likely not originally supposed to be working together but rather [[EvilVsEvil rival factions]], which would've fit the writer's original plan for chaos and multiple factions in the demonic world. ''[[ForWantOfANail Whew]]''.

* Creator/JensenAckles could have been cast as Sam, as that was the part he originally tried out for and he was the favorite choice, until Creator/JaredPadalecki auditioned, at which point they decided to switch him to Dean. Though he says his interpretation of the character was pretty much the same as Padalecki's. In other Could Have Been casting, Kripke had wanted Bruce Campbell (as in, ''[[Franchise/TheEvilDead Ash himself]]'') to play the boys' father but Campbell was unavailable, and Padalecki's then-girlfriend Sandra [=McCoy=] auditioned for the role of Jessica. Jeffrey Dean Morgan only expected to play the 1983-year version of John due to his age and was surprised they had him come back to be the modern-day actor. [=McCoy=] still wanted to be on the show and went on to audition for the roles of Sarah in "Provenance" and Carmen in Season 2's "What Is and What Should Never Be" before landing the Season 3 "Bedtime Stories" incarnation of Dean's Crossroads Demon.

* Creator/LaurenCohan (Bela) and Creator/KatieCassidy (Ruby 1.0) originally auditioned for each other's characters before their roles got switched. A fairly common complaint by fans during Season 3 was that Cohan was a competent actress who'd been given a [[VillainSue poorly written]] character with less to work with while Cassidy was regarded as a less-skilled actress who'd been given a villainous character with more intrigue and potential than she was capable of pulling off, with fans suggesting they should have been given the characters they'd originally wanted. Cohan was also given kickboxing and weapons training for the role of Bela that she never got to use onscreen, suggesting Bela was planned to be shown as a capable DarkActionGirl fighter.

* Creator/MarkPellegrino, who went on to play Lucifer, originally auditioned for Castiel. Shoshannah Stern, who went on to play Eileen Leahy, also auditioned for Ruby.

* In the DVD commentary for the episode, Creator/EricKripke mentioned that he intended to ''[[KilledOffForReal permanently]]'' [[KilledOffForReal kill Castiel off]] at his older brother [[HeroKiller Lucifer's]] hands in the Season 5 finale, but Sera Gamble talked him out of it. Whether ''she'' meant to permanently kill Castiel off at the start of Season 7 has been debated, as Creator/MishaCollins and other crew associated with the show at the time gave every indication that Cas was indeed KilledOffForReal, but given Castiel's dying declaration to make up for his actions to Dean, it seems likelier Gamble had intended to bring him back and the crew was just covering it up.

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* Additionally, Meg was intended to have a larger role in seasons 6 and 7, which was curtailed by Rachel Miner suffering a back injury while filming "Caged Heat."

* Lenore from "Bloodlust" was supposed to have Meg's role in "Caged Heat"--teaming up with the Winchesters to find and kill Crowley, which makes sense, considering he was hunting her kind down for Purgatory--but Creator/AmberBenson couldn't appear, so her part had to be rewritten and Meg and her merry gang of Lucifer loyalists appeared instead. Had Lenore been able to fill the role in the episode as originally planned, Meg presumably would not have had reason to ally with the Winchesters and would've remained a full-on LoveToHate villain. Going further, since Miner was injured filming the episode and this likely contributed to the multiple sclerosis that eventually forced her to leave the role, it's entirely possible that if Meg had not been written in to replace Lenore, Meg would've not only not turned good or pulled a HeroicSacrifice but conceivably Miner could've also stayed in the role longer.

* Creator/EricKripke's original idea for the show was more like equal parts ''X-Files'' and ''Scooby-Doo''. It was originally an anthology series about two tabloid reporters who travel around in a van fighting demons. Then, after the show got reworked into what we now know and love, it was originally "Sal and Dean Harrison" travelling around in a '65 Mustang. The names were changed for legal reasons (as was their father's, which was originally Jack) and the car was changed because a friend suggested an Impala is a rougher, more aggressive-looking car (and because it's easy to fit a body in the trunk).

* The writers wanted to bring Nicki Aycox back to play Meg in Season 5, but couldn't figure out a good way to justify ''why'' she'd come back in that body (which, at that point, had been dead and buried for ''four years'' in-universe) and so decided that they had to recast. If Aycox had come back instead, it's possible that Meg wouldn't have been killed off, as Rachel Miner (who was ultimately cast) was unable to continue playing her due to her illness and requested the character be killed off rather than recast.

* Jensen Ackles could have been cast as Sam, as that was the part he originally tried out for and he was the favorite choice, until Jared Padalecki auditioned, at which point they decided to switch him to Dean. Though he says his interpretation of the character was pretty much the same as Padalecki's. In other Could Have Been casting, Kripke had wanted Bruce Campbell (as in, ''[[Franchise/TheEvilDead Ash himself]]'') to play the boys' father but Campbell was unavailable, and Padalecki's then-girlfriend Sandra [=McCoy=] auditioned for the role of Jessica. Jeffrey Dean Morgan only expected to play the 1983-year version of John due to his age and was surprised they had him come back to be the modern-day actor. [=McCoy=] still wanted to be on the show and went on to audition for the roles of Sarah in "Provenance" and Carmen in Season 2's "What Is and What Should Never Be" before landing the Season 3 "Bedtime Stories" incarnation of Dean's Crossroads Demon.
* A leaked script of "Pilot" showed Sam and Dean were not originally raised hunters and got more years with their parents -- Sam was 9, Dean 13 -- before Mary was killed in a car accident caused by a demon, after which they were raised by an aunt and uncle instead of John. John was a lone hunter, Dean later found out the truth and joined him, and Sam thought they were both nuts until he was forced to see the supernatural himself. John was also killed in the pilot episode, instead of Jessica. Considering the angst their upbringing caused them in the show and how it's turned out to influence their personalities and neuroses, it's bizarre to think of the boys living that apple-pie life as children without knowledge of the supernatural and being new to hunting.
* Jess lived in one of Eric Kripke's earlier drafts for the pilot and the network wanted her to stay, but Eric thought that one of the main characters having a long-term, stay-at-home girlfriend wouldn't work for a roadshow about two brothers. (Apparently, the idea that she could come with them and become a hunter herself didn't occur to him.) Then the network suggested that he have her turn out to be a demon manipulating him, but he didn't use that either, preferring the idea of Mary and Jessica being murdered in the same manner as BookEnds. He did use a variation of the latter concept when he introduced Jessica' ''real'' killer in "The Devil You Know" -- a college friend of Sam and Jessica's who became possessed by one of Azazel's minions and manipulated Sam into going back to hunting by tricking him into falling for Jess and then killing her in front of him.

* The special children plot was supposed to continue into at least Season 3, but the writers came to dislike the idea because the psychic kids just weren't interesting antagonists and Kripke disliked how dense and confusing they made the plot. To resolve it, they gathered the psychics up in the Season 2 two-parter finale to kill them all off except Sam (well, including Sam actually, but [[BackFromTheDead you know how that went]]). This was justified InUniverse by Azazel going from claiming they would be his soldiers in a war, to claiming he only needed one soldier (to lead his demon army) and he wanted them to kill each other off to find out who was strongest. It worked in this case since demons lie and are very manipulative, so it didn't feel out-of-character for Azazel to turn out to have been jerking their chain about his real plan. [[spoiler: In hindsight, it also makes sense that Azazel would have them all kill each other, in order to determine which one was fit to be Lucifer's vessel.]]

* Creator/LaurenCohan (Bela) and Creator/KatieCassidy (Ruby 1.0) originally auditioned for each other's characters before their roles got switched. A fairly common complaint by fans during Season 3 was that Cohan was a competent actress who'd been given a poorly written character with little to work with while Cassidy was regarded as a less-skilled actress who'd been given a more intriguing villainous character than she was capable of pulling off, with fans suggesting they should have been given the characters they'd originally wanted. Cohan was also given kickboxing and weapons training for the role of Bela that she never got to use onscreen, suggesting Bela was planned to be shown as a capable DarkActionGirl fighter.
* Bela was not designed as a series regular. She was created for "Bad Day at Black Rock" and the writers liked the idea of her so much that they just picked her to be the second female regular [[ExecutiveMeddling when the CW wanted one more in addition to Ruby]]. That she wasn't planned to add to the season's plot was evident by the way she waltzed in and out of random episodes, consistently duping the Winchesters because the writers enjoyed having a female antagonist so irritate the boys; unlike Ruby, she added virtually nothing to the overarching plot until she stole the Colt and was revealed to be trying to escape her own DealWithTheDevil (mirroring Dean) by killing the Winchesters on the BigBad's orders. Kripke might have come up with her backstory and motives once she was upgraded to series regular, as he offered to tell Cohan about it before filming for the season, but the failure to tie her to the plot in an interesting and organic way sooner resulted in Bela becoming so loathed that the writers had to kill her off the same episode they revealed it. And as many found the concept of her character interesting and even sympathized with the final depiction of the character, had Bela been used more sparingly (as originally planned) or simply written differently she could have avoided the fans' ire and survived the season.
* Early plans for Season 3 had Gordon finding out about Sam's [[StartOfDarkness actions]] in "Born Under a Bad Sign" [[spoiler:while possessed by Meg]] (though it's unclear if he would have known about that part, or even cared if he had) and rounding up a posse of fellow hunters to hunt Sam down. Because Sterling K. Brown was contracted to ''Series/ArmyWives'' and they'd only let him appear for two more episodes, the ''Supernatural'' writers were forced to heavily condense Gordon's storyline by having him [[spoiler:convince one hunter to help him, break out from prison, and find and get killed by Sam after getting turned into a vampire]].

* Creator/MarkPellegrino, who went on to play Lucifer, originally auditioned for Castiel. Shoshannah Stern, who went on to play Eileen Leahy, also auditioned for Ruby. Additionally, the writers originally wanted to utilize TheNthDoctor to the fullest by having Ruby portrayed by a revolving door of different actresses throughout the season because of the unique opportunity having a {{Body Surf}}ing recurring character afforded them. They changed their minds because Kripke liked Genevieve Cortese's performance in the role. Lucky he did because after the first episode aired implying Sam had had sex with Ruby, there was FridgeHorror from fans alarmed by the implication of Sam having sex with a host body who was either unconscious during sex or [[AndIMustScream awake, helpless, and unable to give consent]]. Sera Gamble wrote a flashback in "I Know What You Did Last Summer" [[AuthorsSavingThrow showing Sam refusing to associate with Ruby in a previous host because she was using a living person and Ruby possessing a braindead, flat-lined coma patient whose soul had already moved on before they eventually did the deed]]. Had they gone ahead with their original plan and Ruby used as many different hosts as they'd wanted, it would have broke the audience's WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief that Ruby kept happening across ''that'' many pretty, just flat-lined coma patients to possess and appease Sam's morals.
* Castiel was only supposed to last for six episodes in season 4 before being killed off by Alastair in "Heaven and Hell", reportedly (according to popular fan rumor) leaving Anna to fill in as the Winchesters' angelic adviser and Dean's eventual end-game. [[EnsembleDarkhorse Positive fan reaction]] not only brought him more screentime and ADayInTheLimelight that season, but the character was promoted to the main cast the following season and has remained a major character ever since. In the DVD commentary for the episode, Creator/EricKripke mentioned that he intended to permanently kill Castiel off at Lucifer's hands in the Season 5 finale, but Sera Gamble talked him out of it. Whether ''she'' meant to permanently kill Castiel off at the start of Season 7 has been debated, as Creator/MishaCollins and other crew associated with the show at the time gave every indication that Cas was indeed KilledOffForReal, but given Castiel's dying declaration to make up for his actions to Dean, it seems likelier Gamble had intended to bring him back and the crew was just covering it up.

* The writers wanted to bring Nicki Aycox back to play Meg in Season 5, but couldn't figure out a good way to justify ''why'' she'd come back in that body (which, at that point, had been dead and buried for ''four years'' in-universe) and so decided that they had to recast. If Aycox had come back instead, it's possible that [[spoiler: the character wouldn't have been killed off]]. Additionally, Meg was intended to have a larger role in seasons 6 and 7, which was curtailed by Rachel Miner suffering a back injury while filming "Caged Heat."

* Lenore from "Bloodlust" was supposed to have Meg's role in "Caged Heat"--teaming up with the Winchesters to find and kill Crowley, which makes sense, considering he was hunting her kind down for Purgatory--but Creator/AmberBenson couldn't appear, so her part had to be rewritten and Meg and her merry gang of Lucifer loyalists appeared instead. Had Lenore been able to fill the role in the episode as originally planned, Meg presumably would not have had reason to ally with the Winchesters and would've remained a full-on LoveToHate villain. Going further, since Miner was injured filming the episode and this likely contributed to the multiple sclerosis that eventually forced her to leave the role, it's entirely possible that if Meg had not been written in to replace Lenore, Meg would've not only not turned good [[spoiler:or pulled a HeroicSacrifice]] but conceivably Miner could've also stayed in the role longer.
* Season 6 was originally planned to be very different from what ended up onscreen. The realization that Sam had lost his soul and the brothers' attempts to get it back were planned to be the main arc, but fan backlash forced the writers to conclude it halfway through the season, and [[spoiler:Castiel]] being the BigBad was only thought of at the last minute as a replacement.

* Amelia was supposed to return in the back half of season 8. The role filled by Sarah Blake was originally meant for her. By that point however, Amelia had become so [[TheScrappy despised by the fans]] that the writers were afraid they'd would be [[RootingForTheEmpire cheering for Crowley to kill her]]. So instead they decided to bring back Sarah Blake, a minor but relatively well-liked character from season 1, and kill her off instead. Ironically, fan hatred for Amelia ultimately made her one of the few [[LoveInterest Love Interests]] to survive Sam's CartwrightCurse.

* The special children plot was supposed to continue into at least Season 3, but the writers came to dislike the idea because the psychic kids just weren't interesting antagonists and Kripke disliked how dense and confusing they made the plot. To resolve it, they gathered the psychics up in the Season 2 two-parter finale to kill them all off except Sam (well, including Sam actually, but [[BackFromTheDead you know how that went]]). This was justified InUniverse by Azazel going from claiming they would be his soldiers in a war, to claiming he only needed one soldier (to lead his demon army) and he wanted them to kill each other off to find out who was strongest. It worked in this case since demons lie and are very manipulative, so it didn't feel out-of-character for Azazel to turn out to have been jerking their chain about his real plan.

* [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]] (and not a CaptainErsatz) was originally going to appear in "Dream a Little Dream of Me". So was John Winchester, an apparition of whom would confront Dean during the climax. Unfortunately, Jeffrey Dean Morgan wasn't available at the time, so they replaced him with Creator/JensenAckles and did the "I'm my own worst nightmare" thing instead, making his dream even more depressing; canceling out his assertion of self-esteem while he was saying it. They went as far as securing the rights to use Jason when a few days before filming started, the studio they got the rights from realized ''they didn't actually own the rights'' and the writers had to come up with a new scene in which Sam has an EroticDream about Bela to replace Jason's airtime.[[note]]Funnily enough, Freddy Krueger already got a ShoutOut in the episode, so ''had'' Jason appeared, both horror icons would've been referenced in the episode; five years before the episode, they'd already had a [[Film/FreddyVsJason crossover film]] together![[/note]]

* Jensen Ackles could have been cast as Sam, as that was the part he originally tried out for and he was the favorite choice, until Jared Padalecki auditioned, at which point they decided to switch him to Dean. Though he says his interpretation of the character was pretty much the same as Jared Padalecki's.
* Jess was originally going to survive the pilot; the studio wanted her to either become a hunter herself or be revealed to be a demon.
* Missouri Moseley was planned to be a major character, playing Bobby's role in the plot. The actress was unavailable, so the character Bobby Singer was created instead.
* Gordon was going to find out the events of "Born Under a Bad Sign" and gather a few hunters to help him kill Sam Winchester/The Anti-Christ, but Sterling K. Brown was only available for two episodes in Season 3, so that idea had to be scrapped.
* Originally, in ''Dream A Little Dream Of Me'', Jeffrey Dean Morgan (as John Winchester) was going to appear as Dean's worst nightmare and Jason Voorhees was going to appear in Sam's dream. But neither were available, so Sam had an EroticDream about Bela, and Dean's dream became even more depressing; canceling out his assertion of self-esteem while he was saying it.
* Before the disruption of the Writers Strike, Sam was going to break Dean's deal with Lilith before the end of Season 3. Additionally, the introduction of angels to the series was only conceived of during the strike.
* In "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester", where ghosts blame the boys for their deaths, Sera Gamble tried to get Jessica Moore (Sam's ex-girlfriend) instead of Ronald (Nightshifter) but it fell through. Thank God it did, though, as her angrily blaming Sam for her death would have probably reduced everyone to tears.
* Anna was meant to replace Castiel and become Dean's angel guide, with Castiel being killed off by Alastair in "On The Head Of A Pin". She was also supposed to be his endgame love interest.
* Season 6 was originally planned to be very different from what ended up onscreen. The realization that Sam had lost his soul and the brothers' attempts to get it back were planned to be the main arc, but fan backlash forced the writers to conclude it halfway through the season, and [[spoiler:Castiel]] being the BigBad was only thought of at the last minute as a replacement.

** However, in "Free To Be You and Me", [[spoiler:Lucifer communicates with Sam in his dreams using Jess' form]].

* Before the disruption of the Writers Strike, Sam was going to break Dean's deal with Lilith before the end of S3. Additionally, the introduction of angels to the series was only conceived of during the Writers Strike.
* Gordon was going to find out the events of "Born Under a Bad Sign" and gather a few hunters to help him kill Sam Winchester/The Anti-Christ but Sterling K. Brown was only available for two episodes in Season Three so that idea had to be scrapped.
* Originally, in ''Dream A Little Dream Of Me'', Jeffrey Dean Morgan (as in John Winchester) was going to appear as Dean's worst nightmare and Jason Voorhees was going to appear in Sam's dream. But neither were available so Sam had an EroticDream about Bela and Dean's dream became even more depressing; canceling out his assertion of self-esteem while he was saying it.
* In "Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester", where ghosts blame the boys for their deaths, Sera Gamble tried to get Jessica Moore (Sam's ex-girlfriend) instead of Ronald (Nightshifter) but it fell through. Thank God it did, though, as her angrily blaming Sam for her death would have probably reduced everyone to tears.
** However, in "Free To Be You and Me", [[spoiler:Lucifer communicates with Sam in his dreams using Jess' form]].
* Jensen Ackles could have been cast as Sam, as that was the part he originally tried out for and he was the favorite until Jared Padalecki auditioned, at which point they decided to switch him to Dean. Though he says his interpretation of the character was pretty much the same as Jared Padalecki's.
* Season 6 was originally planned to be very different from what ended up onscreen. The realization that Sam had lost his soul and the brothers' attempts to get it back were planned to be the main arc, but fan backlash forced the writers to conclude it halfway through the season, and [[spoiler:Castiel]] being the BigBad was only thought of at the last minute as a replacement.

* Missouri Moseley was originally going to be a major character, playing Bobby's role in the plot. The actress was unavailable, so the character Bobby Singer was created.
* Anna was supposed to replace Castiel and become Dean's angel guide, with Castiel being killed off by Alastair in "On The Head Of A Pin". She was also supposed to be his endgame love interest.

* Season 6 was originally planned to be very different from what ended up onscreen. The realization that Sam had lost his soul and the brothers' attempts to get it back were planned to be the main arc, but fan backlash forced the writers to conclude it halfway through the season, and [[spoiler:Castiel]] being the BigBad was only thought of at the last minute as a replacement.

* However, in "Free To Be You and Me", [[spoiler:Lucifer communicates with Sam in his dreams using Jess' form]].