“The Vampire Diaries” will be airing its final season this October and rumors are swirling that Nina Dobrev will be returning to reprise her role as Elena Gilbert.
Dobrev exited the show after Season 6 when her character went into a deep slumber due to Kai’s spell.
Speaking during the Television Critics Association summer press tour, The CW President Mark Pedowitz admitted that there are already discussions going on about the actress’ return to the TV series.
The executive says that they’d love nothing more for the show to have Elena back for its final season. He went on to say that Nina was an integral part of the show and made it successful as it is today.
However, Pedowitz said that should the 27-year-old actress choose not to come back for the series finale, executive producer Julie Plec has planned a backup ending.
He says that the backup plan is as satisfying as the original plan Julie had so fans shouldn’t worry about being shortchanged just because Elena did not return.
The CW President says that ending the show after its 8th season was a mutual decision between him, Plec, and Warner Brother Television’s Peter Roth.
Pedowitz admits that Julie got to the decision before anyone so she made them understand that it was indeed the right time to close the story.
Plec has long said that she envisioned the show to end after Season 7, but it was ultimately up to the network how long they want the show to run. She adds that as long as Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder are still in it, then she’s still in it as well.
Somerhalder and Kat Graham, who play Damon Salvatore and Bonnie, respectively, have stated earlier this year that Season 8 will be their final season on the show which prompted rumors of a cancellation.
Fans are also clamoring for the return of Nina to give resolution to her character and to Elena and Damon’s relationship.
Meanwhile, the cast was present during this year’s San Diego ComicCon to announce that they will come back for one last season.
During the show’s panel, Plec hinted at Elena’s return saying that she and Nina had an agreement that she will come back and reprise her role in the series finale.
That is why, the showrunner adds, she has wrapped around the finale with Elena Gilbert in the scene. She adds that it’s the plan she’s sticking with and she hopes that Nina does come back for the final season.
Despite missing one season, “The Final Girls” actress was still mentioned throughout the series. The show did go on a darker direction during the past season but there were references made on Elena’s situation throughout the season.
The vampire huntress Rayna was even revealed to be linked to the Petrova line, therefore she is somehow related to Elena and her doppelgangers. In fact, Nina even made a narration for the Season 6 finale.
Sharing the story of her voice cameo, Plec said that she told Nina that they would need her to go to the studio and record a narration or they could just put clips of her together to create the scene.
Plec says that Nina willingly agreed to visit the set and do the narration for the show which gave fans hope that she will really come back for Season 8.
However, if Nina does come back as Elena, this will mean that Bonnie will die. Fans will remember that Kai’s spell linked Elena and Bonnie’s life.
Rumors then surfaced that Nina won’t be reprising Elena but her doppelganger Katherine to prevent Bonnie’s demise. It was back in Season 5 when the fan-favorite antagonist was seen last.