‘Why Aren’t We Doing This?’: The Vampire Diaries Showrunner Teases Potential Continuation
The Vampire Diaries ran for eight seasons on The CW between 2009 and 2017. Based on the book series of the same name by L.J. Smith, the supernatural teen series was adapted to the small screen by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson, and it became one of the most popular TV series of all time, and, despite its great finale, there might be more coming.
Co-creator Julie Plec revealed that she has more ideas to keep the universe of Mystic Falls alive. The Vampire Diaries evolved into a franchise, spawning two spin-offs, The Originals and Legacies. Starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder, The Vampire Diaries wrapped all loose ends in its finale “I Was Feeling Epic,” but Plec revealed in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the universe could continue with a movie.
After several seasons of love triangles, dramas, deaths, doppelgängers, and betrayals, The Vampire Diaries’ finale wrapped all the loose ends for the Salvatore brothers, Elena, Caroline, Bonnie, and the rest of the characters, although some moments left fans devastated. Addressing the possibility of a movie, Plec revealed that the Twilight reboot restarted the conversations. “You know what, Paul Wesley and I were literally just texting two days ago because he saw the news about the Twilight animated show, and he’s like, ‘Why aren’t we doing this?’ And I said, ‘Good question. We should do this.'”
It’s just about the right idea and the right time, like I’m game.
The showrunner continued, “There’s so many opportunities to keep this world alive and keep this franchise going. For me, it’s just about the right idea and the right time, like I’m game. Leslie Morgenstein started talking about a Vampire Diaries movie in like Season 2, so I’m sure that it’s something that he still continues to pursue quietly.”
Plec further explained, “We’ve talked about all kinds of different ways to revisit parts of the story that we love or to tell a new version of the story. I know that those conversations are always happening. I personally know that there is a story that I would like to tell if anyone will have me eventually, so we shall see.”
Plec further explained what could pose a threat to another TVD project: the very core of the show — vampires: “The tricky part of a vampire story is that your character is not supposed to age, right? So it makes it more complicated, and also 90 percent of them died before the show ended, so it makes the idea of a sequel or a prequel very complicated.” She further teased that she has some ideas on how to pay homage to the central characters.
The Vampire Diaries Lead Actors Had to Fight for the Roles
As for any other hit show, no one could imagine a better Elena Gilbert than Nina Dobrev, or better Stefan and Damon than Wesley and Somerhalder, respectively. However, their roles weren’t set in stone, as they were relatively new to the scene, except Somerhalder, who had been in Lost and Young Americans, the Dawson’s Creek spinoff.
During the interview, Plec explained that Nina Dobrev auditioned early in the process, but she was sick, and had to fight to audition again. “It came perfectly, right at the time when we were sort of throwing our hands up in the air.” She further explained that Somerhalder tanked his audition, and there were many conversations about how to cast him as Damon. As for Wesley, she and co-creator Kevin Williamson initially thought the actor was “too old” for the part. Initially planning to cast someone from the 2006 fantasy film The Covenant, like Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, or Taylor Kitsch, they were happy they went with Wesley. “I don’t think we could have done a better job,” Plec concluded about the main cast.
