'Supernatural' season 12 spoilers: Jensen Ackles to reprise role; Sam-Castiel relationship to be explored?

Jensen Ackles has some great news for his fans in the upcoming "Supernatural" season 12. He is taking a break from directing the show but is returning to it so he can spend more time in his role as the much-loved Dean Winchester.

The actor told TVLine, "I just decided to take the first part of the season easy. Twenty-three episodes [per season] is a long, long shoot, and I usually would direct the first episode that we would film."

Ackles has directed five episodes from five seasons and decided to take a break to concentrate on his acting. He cited no reason for this change of pace except that he may later film some arduous episodes in the upcoming season.

Besides his commitment to acting early this season, Ackles has pointed out a few things he wants to explore as Dean.

First, he said he wants to go back down to purgatory for another look around. He gave no specific reason for wanting to do so, just that he seemed to think it's a fine thing to do in the next season of "Supernatural." The actor/director also said he hopes to see the show return to its earlier format wherein a new monster would be highlighted every so often.

It is not just Ackles who has a list of things he wants to tackle in the upcoming run of "Supernatural." Jared Padalecki, who plays Ackles' Dean's brother, Sam Winchester, has expressed his desire to look more deeply into the relationship between Sam and Castiel (Misha Collins).

Padalecki shared with TVLine, "I love Misha [Collins]. I get a lot of Sam/Dean scenes, and I love Jensen, but I love exploring the Sam/Castiel relationship."

This is not to say that these mere fancies of the show's two lead actors are confirmed for the upcoming run. But if the previous seasons of "Supernatural" are any indication, there is a big likelihood that some of these ideas, if not all, will somehow find their way into "Supernatural" season 12.

October 13 is the premiere date set for "Supernatural" season 12 on The CW.