Behind the Scenes of EW's Supernatural Cover Shoot
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Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki
In this cover shot outtake, Ackles was the one holding Negan's bat — a nod to former Supernatural star Jeffrey Dean Morgan — while Castiel had an angel blade as opposed to the angel sword he'd get later.
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Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki
This shot is a bit closer to what would eventually land on the cover.
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Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki
The cemetery set was built on one of Supernatural's stages. In this spot, there's typically a very large green screen for all of those on-the-road shots with Baby.
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Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki
The stars were given zero direction when it came to the skeletons. These poses were their idea.
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Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki
Yes, the song playing during this portion of the shoot was Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
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Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki
Fun fact: Ackles knew more of the "Thriller" dance than either of his costars.
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Jared Padalecki
Here's a game: Pick your favorite dead character on the show and pretend Sam is saying hello.
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Jensen Ackles
Ackles was the first to arrive on the shoot. This is one of the very first shots.
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Jensen Ackles
After the brass knuckles, Ackles went straight for the chainsaw.
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Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Jared Padalecki
Believe it or not, there were a few prop-free shots in the mix.
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Jensen Ackles
Maybe Dean needs a chainsaw on the show...
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Jared Padalecki
Sam wasn't the one who ended up in purgatory, but that doesn't mean he can't hold a purgatory blade or two.
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Jared Padalecki
On a Halloween-themed photo shoot, there are plenty of pumpkins, both real and fake. This one is real.
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Misha Collins
There are also many, many skulls.
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Misha Collins
You can't put on cat ears without getting fully into character.
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Jensen Ackles
The kittens came from a local shelter. There were four in total.
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Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki
The kittens weren't exactly easy to deal with, but thankfully they were cute enough that it didn't matter.
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Misha Collins, Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki
Padalecki and Collins had the same idea: Cover Ackles in kittens.
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Jensen Ackles
If you look closely, you can see Padalecki getting ready to join the fun.
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Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins
Let's be honest: There's not much you can do with a pumpkin.
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Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins
Here, Ackles and Collins were instructed to try and hold Padalecki back. It sort of worked.
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The Cemetery Set
The skeletons were incredibly professional throughout the entire shoot.
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Props Table
More than half the props never even made it into any photos.
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Severed Heads
Padalecki did juggle these at one point. (They were soft.)