Inside TV AOL Spoilery Interview With Julie McNiven And Misha Collins

[Shaula]

Insidetv.aol.com has a new and spoilery interview with Julie McNiven, who plays Anna and Misha Collins, who plays Castiel.

They talk a lot about the upcoming 5.13 episode, spin-offs, Jensen Ackles directing and more.

Read it:


We're only two weeks into 'Supernatural's' winter hiatus and many self-confessed Super-fans are already feeling separation anxiety; lucky for you, Inside TV has an exclusive spoiler fix to whet your appetites before the Winchesters make their ass-kicking return in an all-new episode on Jan. 21.

We recently caught up with 'Supernatural's' most heavenly creatures, Misha Collins and Julie McNiven, to find out what we can expect from their angelic alter-egos next year. Fans of Collins' enigmatic Castiel shouldn't get too excited, though; heaven's latest dropout can't tell us too much about the first two episodes after hiatus -- he isn't in either of them!

"I'm off for two episodes," he admits, typically coy on the subject of spoilers. "We're shooting [episode] 13 and I'm in it, but I don't know how much I can tell you ..." But the real reason for his reticence soon emerges: "I can't remember what happens in this episode at all, my mind's a blank."

We're quite happy to jog his memory. The episode, titled "Back to the Future II," actually features a rather more 'Terminator' plot line than anything involving Doc Brown. Julie McNiven's rogue angel Anna reportedly makes a reappearance and, blaming Sam (Jared Padalecki) for jump starting the apocalypse, travels back in time in an attempt to kill the young John and Mary Winchester (the roles being reprised, we assume, by Amy Gumenick and Matt Cohen rather than Samantha Smith and the delicious Jeffrey Dean Morgan) before they can spawn poor, oblivious baby Sammy. Naturally, grown up Sam and Dean (Jensen Ackles) aren't too crazy about the idea of being wiped out of existence before they're even born, so they take a ride back to the past with Castiel to stop Anna from doing the deed. The time-travel apparently results in some killer nosebleeds and fainting spells for both our halo-wearers, but that's another issue entirely - Collins even teases that Castiel "barely makes it" out of the episode alive; could it have something to do with his going "head-to-head" with McNiven's Anna?

And what is McNiven's response to these wild accusations? She's every bit as cagey as Collins, but she's at least willing to try and justify Anna's somewhat shady perspective. "Everything Anna does is motivated by wanting to do the right thing, wanting to do what she feels is going to keep this apocalypse from happening," she clarifies. "I see Anna as always doing what she thinks is right and she's very strong about that and doesn't want to hear anything otherwise. So that's all I'll say about that!"

McNiven is clearly enthusiastic about the episode, assuring the fans, "you won't be let down. There's lots of fun throws and tosses and a little bit of hand-to-hand combat, which I was so excited to do -- it's a lot of fun." Judging by the hints McNiven drops, the door will be left open for Anna to return at the end of the episode, though the actress knows better than to guess at her character's longevity.

"When you're a recurring character -- Anna doesn't have to play a part in the apocalypse," she reasons lightly. "It's great to be there and I, of course, want to come back but I understand that the story is coming to a close and the story's not about me ... But there could easily be a spin-off or something, right?"

We suggest that perhaps she and Collins could form an angelic crime-fighting duo? "Yeah!" she nods enthusiastically. "We can call it 'Cas and Anna: The First 1,000 Years.' We could have like, 25 seasons."

We also took the opportunity to consult Collins on the wacky rumor that's been flying around online concerning the show's landmark 100th episode. The CW's PR people were quick to quash the reports of Jensen Ackles stepping behind the camera to direct the centennial celebration, but according to Collins, fans shouldn't rule out Ackles' directorial debut entirely.

"I've talked to him about it; he wants to direct, but the problem is, he's in everything," Collins explains. "He could shoot the episode -- an episode that he's in, he could direct it while we're shooting, but the problem is doing the pre-production and post-production. Going out and location scouting and stuff like that takes him away from the set, so he'd have to basically not be in two episodes to make that work, or be in a limited role, and the writers ... they don't wanna do that!"

The writers (and perhaps some of Ackles' admirers) might not be wild about the lack of Dean on screen, but 'Supernatural' has an impeccable track record when it comes to giving the fans what they want; if Ackles' dream of directing is supported by the fan base, showrunner Eric Kripke would be hard-pressed to refuse. Make your voices heard, fandom!



Misha Collins and Julie McNiven Talk 'Supernatural' Spoilers and Spin-Offs





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[lere]

I was hoping to see Dean ganking the giant redhead

I don't get it: Tom Welling can direct Smallville episodes since forever and he is the main character. Why would it be so difficult for Jensen?

[Shaula]

It's different, Lere. Tom is the main character, but Smallville has a lot more characters than Supernatural.

I would love to see him directing, but... I don't really want two episodes totally without Dean.

[Lara]

Yeah I agree with you Lele, Tom has better chances to direct, because he is in some episodes only shortly... Jensen is almost in every scene. Even Tom said that directing is hard to him too, he lost some weight during it, a lot pressure.
I somehow wish that Jensen stays in show and doesn't even try to direct, he is needed in it. He doesn't need so much more pressure than he already has.

[lere]

Originally Posted by Shaula

It's different, Lere. Tom is the main character, but Smallville has a lot more characters than Supernatural.

I would love to see him directing, but... I don't really want two episodes totally without Dean.

Something like "The curious case of Dean Winchester"

[Shaula]

Yeah, something like that, Lere. I'm not sure if I would like that, two in a row, though.

Of course that, if he decides to take the chance I'll support him all the way.

Originally Posted by Lara

Yeah I agree with you Lele, Tom has better chances to direct, because he is in some episodes only shortly... Jensen is almost in every scene. Even Tom said that directing is hard to him too, he lost some weight during it, a lot pressure.
I somehow wish that Jensen stays in show and doesn't even try to direct, he is needed in it. He doesn't need so much more pressure than he already has.

Yep, he and Jared already have so much in their shoulders...