Misha Collins is on his way back to Supernatural.

A spokesman for Warner Bros. has confirmed that the man behind the sexiest sidekick on television will guest star on the 17th episode of this season, along with "at least two additional" installments beyond that. But there's a twist.

He might not be playing Castiel.

“It has always been our intention to bring back Misha in some form,” executive producer Sera Gamble said after the character departed earlier this season. “We certainly can’t say too much about where the story is going to go, but we love Misha and want to continue to work with him.”

Supernatural returns with new episodes on January 6, while Collins will actually show up elsewhere on The CW in early 2012: look for him to guest star on an episode of Ringer.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.