Jensen Ackles has been searching for a role that could give him the kind of long-term run he enjoyed as Dean Winchester since Supernatural ended in 2020. Although the actor has remained busy, many of his post-Supernatural projects have featured him in shorter stretches, with Prime Video’s Countdown recently giving him another opportunity to lead a potential multi-season series before its cancellation after just 13 episodes.
His role as Soldier Boy in The Boys has arguably come closest to recreating some of the appeal of Supernatural, and the upcoming Vought Rising prequel will give Ackles another chance to return to that character. However, his latest project could offer something very different — and potentially much bigger.
Ackles has officially been cast as the lead of MGM+’s upcoming crime thriller Rules of Prey, a live-action adaptation of John Sandford’s long-running Prey book series. The project draws comparisons to crime franchises such as Reacher and Sherlock Holmes, making it a particularly intriguing fit for the former Dean Winchester star.
More importantly, the enormous amount of source material behind Rules of Prey means the series could theoretically have enough stories to continue for decades if it finds an audience and keeps getting renewed.
Why Jensen Ackles’ ‘Rules of Prey’ Is “Reacher Meets Sherlock Holmes”
Rules of Prey is based on John Sandford’s Prey book series, which began in 1989 and has continued to expand for decades. The latest installment, Revenge Prey, arrived in April 2026 as the 36th entry in the literary franchise.
That gives MGM+ an enormous amount of material to potentially draw from. While two of the books have already received television adaptations, the vast majority of the Prey novels have never been brought to the screen.
The setup also makes comparisons with Prime Video’s Reacher particularly easy to understand. Like Jack Reacher, Jensen Ackles’ Lucas Davenport is a former law enforcement officer and a classic antihero who is pulled back into action when he becomes personally connected to a case.
There are important differences between the characters, however. Davenport changes and develops throughout the Prey series, while Reacher’s central appeal comes partly from the fact that he remains fundamentally the same character from story to story.
Both characters can also be compared with Sherlock Holmes because of their exceptional investigative abilities and willingness to pursue unconventional, morally gray solutions. That combination gives Rules of Prey a potentially familiar but still distinct formula for Ackles.
‘Rules of Prey’ Probably Won’t Adapt Every Book
On paper, Rules of Prey could run for decades. If MGM+ were to adapt approximately one novel per season, following a model similar to Reacher, the existing source material alone could theoretically keep the series going for close to 40 years.
Of course, a television series lasting that long would be extraordinarily unusual. Ackles would also be approaching 90 by the time the existing novels were exhausted, making it highly unlikely that MGM+ would simply adapt every book in chronological order.
Instead, Rules of Prey will more likely select the novels that work best for the television format. The studio already has an obvious starting point, since the first book in the series shares its name with the upcoming show and serves as the origin story for Lucas Davenport.
The adaptation also has a few novels it could simply skip. Mind Prey was previously adapted in 1995, while Certain Prey received a television adaptation in 1999. Other Davenport cases could potentially be treated as having occurred off-screen between seasons.
For now, the biggest question is whether Rules of Prey can establish itself as a long-running franchise. If it does, Ackles could finally have another character capable of carrying a series for years — and the sheer size of Sandford’s literary universe gives MGM+ plenty of stories to work with.
