'Supernatural' season 12 cast updates, plot spoilers: 'Jerk' Castiel and Mary's connection explored? Kadeem Hardison joins series' cast

Lucifer has left Castiel's body as vessel, and according to reports, "Supernatural" season 12 will see the angel back to being his badass self. This is just one of the things to look forward to when the series returns to The CW this October.

The past seasons saw Castiel (Misha Collins) being a "slave" to Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino), but when season 12 starts, he will have left Castiel's vessel. This means Cas is once again an angel, although he doesn't have his wings back yet.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Collins teased that Cas will be heading into "Supernatural" season 12 "closer to full power than we have seen him, I would say, in years." He goes on to say that Castiel and Crowley (Mark Sheppard) will team up to find Lucifer and that Cas is "coming out swinging."

Collins likewise made it clear that Lucifer has totally left Castiel and that there aren't any lingering effects from the Devil's stay in his vessel. However, if there's one thing about Castiel in season 12, Collins says his character is "a little bit of a jerk" and "short-tempered." Hence, it remains to be seen how memorable Cas and Crowley's scenes will be.

Meanwhile, with Mary Winchester (Samantha Smith) coming back from the dead and joining her sons Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) in season 12, it seems she will form an unlikely connection with Castiel. The connection will not be romantic in nature. Instead, it will be more in the sense of being "outsiders," yet connected with Sam and Dean in a special way.

In related news, Kadeem Hardison has just been tapped for a guest role in the upcoming season of "Supernatural." It remains to be seen if the role will be recurring, but according to EW, he will play a "man from Crowley's past who has put a lot of thought into Lucifer's future."

Apparently, Hardison will play Russell Lemmons, a music bigwig who has big plans for the latest incarnation of Lucifer—rocker Vince Vincente. Rick Springfield, no less, will play the rocker. According to the show's executive producer, Robert Singer, the rocker will be the first vessel that Lucifer feels comfortable with.

Excited for the series' upcoming installment? Make sure to tune in to "Supernatural" season 12 when it returns Thursday, Oct. 13 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.