Maurice Benard Re-Signs With ‘General Hospital’: Sonny Corinthos Will Stick Around Port Charles
Maurice Benard has re-signed with General Hospital, and it seems Sonny Corinthos will be sticking around Port Charles for a while. Fans of the soap opera know that contract negotiations had been taking a while with this one, but the news is finally out that Benard and the show came together to extend their partnership.
ABC Soaps in Depth shares the news regarding Maurice Benard’s contract re-signing. Benard’s character of Sonny Corinthos will continue to shake things up now that a new deal has been reached. Benard had previously indicated that he wanted to stick around, but that negotiations were ongoing. Given the amount of movement of actors among the soaps this past year or so, fans will be glad to know that his character is staying put.
Benard says that it all worked out, and Maurice tweeted his own confirmation that a deal has been made. He says that it’s great to “stay home” for “a little while longer” doing what he loves. He added that he couldn’t do it without the support of all his fans and he thanked them.
It seems this has been a somewhat drawn-out negotiation, as Benard had indicated a while back that he was waiting to see how it would all work out. While it would be difficult for General Hospital fans to imagine Port Charles without Sonny Corinthos, it seems the show may well have been preparing for just that scenario in recent months.
Of course, the character of Sonny is sitting in jail right now, but it would seem things will change up soon so that Corinthos can somehow get back to Port Charles and running his organization himself again. How will they get him out of jail? Fans already have their theories, and everybody will have to stay tuned to see how it plays out.
There have been numerous casting changes on the soap over the past few months. Kelly Thiebaud departed, while Ric Hearst and Brandon Barash returned. In addition, Michelle Stafford and Billy Miller took on roles with GH after both departing The Young and the Restless. As She Knows Soaps notes, Kimberly McCullough will also be returning as Robin again, though at this point, no specific return date or storyline has been revealed.
Many fans would have been surprised had Maurice Benard actually left General Hospital, but there are few guarantees these days when it comes to the world of soap operas. More details should be emerging soon about how the show enticed Benard to stay in the role of Sonny Corinthos, and fans can’t wait to see what lies ahead.
[Image via Hispanically Yours]
