In case there was any doubt remaining -- yes, Supernatural fans, our favorite feathery friend will be back for Season 7. Along with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles, The CW lists Misha Collins as a series regular for the upcoming season. Though Collins was listed in The CW's press release, TVLine reports that he is not listed as a regular in Season 7. He will, however, return in some capacity.He's not the little angel on Dean's shoulder anymore, though. Now that he's absorbed all of the souls in Purgatory, Castiel is officially a God. We're not sure whether he's the one and only, or if there's still another God hiding out somewhere... perhaps looking something like Chuck? What we do know is that for now, Castiel expects Sam and Dean to treat him a little differently.
"I'm your new God," he said coldly. "A better one. so you will bow down and profess your love unto me, your lord, or I shall destroy you."
We don't doubt it, either. Though Castiel ultimately beat Raphael, he kept Crowley around, making ominous threats about plans for him. He also proved his ruthessness in the episode when he nearly turned Sam into a vegetable in his quest for the ultimate power. Dean isn't likely to forgive Castiel for that move any time soon, and it's clear that Sam still has a lot of healing to do before he gets his bearings back.
One thing is for sure -- Castiel has changed, big time. We spoke with E.P. Ben Edlund recently, and he told us that the decision to "turn" Cas wasn't an easy one. "I had my hesitations," he admits, "because I like the fish-out-of-water, dumb jokes, and I like Cas. I like the thing on camera that Misha created that complemented this new strain of creature, this angel coming into our world and gave a body and character to it. That's a really great thing. But one of the rules of 'Supernatural' is loss, and losing things. You have to love something before you can feel its loss."
Showrunner Sera Gamble tells TV Line that though Collins is a regular, Castiel's role in the story was never intended to be as constant as Sam's and Dean's. "When it comes to 'Supernatural,' our philosophy is that everyone moves in and out and weaves in and out of the story, obviously with the exception of Sam and Dean," she says. "We love Misha. We love and adore the character of Castiel. His character developed to this extent and went in this unexpected direction because we were so inspired by him."
