In The CW‘s new series Walker, Supernatural star Jared Padalecki plays Cordell Walker, a Texas Ranger who returns home to Austin after being undercover for two years and finds himself dealing with the challenges of family — including his two children — after being away while also growing increasingly suspicious of the circumstances of his wife’s death. The series is a full reboot of the classic Walker, Texas Ranger drama with a very different take on the character played by Chuck Norris in the original, but according to Padalecki, he had Norris’ blessing.
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During an appearance on Good Morning America, Padalecki explained that Norris still co-owns the original Walker, Texas Ranger and that they had to get his blessing for the reboot, something that didn’t appear to be an issue.
“He did have to give his blessing. He helped create the original version and so he still co-owns it,” Padalecki said. “He didn’t have any problem with it, thank goodness because I don’t want to mess with Chuck Norris. But I’ve seen all the GIFs and memes and stuff. So, he did have to give his blessing.”
He added, “it’s a very, very different show, and our Walker, Texas Ranger is a very different Walker than his Walker, but he did give his blessing.”
Norris’ Walker, Texas Ranger ran for eight seasons on CBS between 1993 and 2001. It also spawned a 2005 television reboot. That series is less family-oriented and featured quite a bit of martial arts — something that makes sense given that Norris is a martial artist in real life. The CW series takes a very different approach, one that accounts for generational differences between Norris’ character and the one that Padalecki plays.
“This isn’t a show about karate,” Padalecki told the San Antonio Express-News. “It’s not about how many roundhouse kicks we have per episode.”
He added, “Our Walker grew up in the 80s like I did, as opposed to growing up in the 40s like Chuck did. It’s a very different generation we find ourselves in. Knowing what we know now, more than 25 years after the original premiered, no one wants to see a police officer walking around randomly kicking people.”
Walker airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
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