Walker star 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 show Walker, Texas Ranger, the new rendition of Walker was canceled by The CW in 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 with Variety, Padalecki shared what would have happened in a potential Walker season 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, while a new character played by James Van Der Beek would have played a suspicious newcomer possibly 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.

Walker Season 5 Had Plenty Of Potential

As evidenced by Padalecki’s description of the planned episodes, Walker season 5 would have been an interesting addition to the show that 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 though Walker season 5 won’t come to fruition, the series could still be considered one of The 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.

Source: Variety