Walker Season 5’s Planned Villain Details Revealed By Showrunner Following Cancellation: “There Was Something Profound”
Summary
Walkerstar Jared Padalecki has revealed what the story of season 5 would have been had the series not been prematurely cancelled, teasing how things would have shaped up beyond its series finale. A reboot of the 1990s western showWalker, Texas Ranger,the new rendition ofWalkerwas canceled by The CWin May 2024, weeks ahead of season 4’s final episode. This makes season 4 the official ending of the show, despite plenty of ideas for season 5 and a general plan of where the series was going to go from there.
Speaking withVariety, Padalecki shared what would have happened in a potentialWalkerseason 5 had the series not been forced to end with season 4. The actor explained how Violet Brinson’s Stella and Kale Culley’s Auggie would get more screen time moving forward, whilea new character played by James Van Der Beek would have played a suspicious newcomerpossibly involved in criminal activity. Check out what Padalecki had to say below:
Yeah, there was so much to deal with, now that Violet [Brinson] and Kale [Culley] are both young adults. They’re not children like they were four years ago, both literally and metaphorically. So there was a lot that we were going to explore with them — like, how much the sins of the father can carry down to the progeny, and how much Stella and/or August had, unfortunately, [inherited] their father’s bad qualities as well, which we dealt with this year with Stella. She’s very much like her father in the good ways and in the bad ways.
But we were very excited to have James [Van Der Beek] on the show. He’s a personal friend, and he lives here in Austin. It wasn’t going to be like the Walker-Davidson feud necessarily [from Season 2], and the fifth season was certainly not written by any means, but I think there was going to be a very interesting dynamic that Cordell was maybe not anticipating, because he was taking a backseat on his law enforcement duties. We thought that James and his crew were going to be maybe up to no good, and Walker was just blinded to it.
Walker was a “Hell yes” or “hell no” kind of guy; he was either all-in on something, or he was kind of oblivious to it. And that was good when he was all-in on a job or all-in on trying to work with his family. But it was bad when he was oblivious: “Oh, no, the kids are fine. I’m fine. They’re nice. Don’t be suspicious of this person, or that person.” And he kind of got stuck in his own head, as we all often do at times. So we were going to explore that.
As evidenced by Padalecki’s description of the planned episodes,Walkerseason 5would have been an interesting addition to the showthat would have pushed its characters forward. Van Der Beek seemingly portraying the next major antagonist would have led to a unique confrontation, especially if the titular character didn’t want to believe he was doing anything wrong. Seeing his children growing up would also be an important aspect to the story, especially if they ended up with their own storylines that further expanded the show’s focus.
Later in the interview,Padalecki also discussed wanting to continue focusing on his character’s life as a single father, saying the family elements of the series were always some of its most important. Since the show would see Stella and Auggie getting more screen time as well, it seems the family dynamics would be an even bigger part of the next season. This could have made it stand out as a character-driven entry in the series, giving its stars plenty of space for storylines focusing on their relations to one another.
Even thoughWalkerseason 5 won’t come to fruition, the series could still be considered one ofThe CW’s best shows, given its central focus on its characters and important themes. While it will be disappointing the channel’s future doesn’t include the show, Padalecki’s elaboration on what the show would have been like indicates it would have continued in a worthwhile direction. Even if the series isn’t coming back, the vision for it is now out in the open, showing how it would have evolved the series.
The series' spinoff,Walker: Independence, was also cancelled by The CW back in May 2023.
Walker
Cast
Walker is The CW’s 2021 reboot of the ‘90s popular western Walker, Texas Ranger. The drama series was developed by Anna Fricke and stars Jared Padalecki as Cordell Walker, the titular Texas Ranger. Alongside Padalecki stars Molly Hagan, Keegan Allen, Violet Brinson, and Kale Kulley. Jared Padalecki’s wife, Genevieve, also appears in the series as Walker’s wife, Emily.
