Ian Somerhalder Leaving ‘The Vampire Diaries’ After Season 7? Showrunner Julie Plec Knows When The Show Will End

After Nina Dobrev decided to leave The Vampire Diaries, many fans thought the show’s end was near. After all, Dobrev’s character, along with Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley’s Salvatore brothers, was central to the main storyline. However, the series managed to retool its narrative without Dobrev and is currently going strong. But is the end of series closer than we think?

In speaking with E! News, creator Julie Plec revealed that she knows when the series will officially wrap. Based on her comments, the end could very well be just around the corner or a few years from now.

“I finally realized that my destiny on this show, creatively, is tied in to Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley. And I mean that in a really good way,” she stated. “As long as those boys who I now consider my friends want to keep telling the story, then I won’t walk away from telling the story.”

Plec added that whenever Somerhalder and Wesley decide they want to leave the series, she will craft a great ending for the Salvatore brothers. Thankfully, it does not sound as though any of them will make the decision independently, which should help give fans a clean conclusion to the show.

“When they are ready to be done telling the story, I will put my pencil down and say that I’m done too, and then we will work together to end it in the best way possible. There’s always things that could go wrong in that scenario, there’s always pressure that can be put on,” Plec explained. “But… the three of us I’d like to think will make the creative decision of when the show should be over.”

While many have speculated that Ian Somerhalder is ready to call it quits on the show, it now seems as though the star will stick with the series for at least a few more seasons.

Meanwhile, Us Magazine is reporting that Plec also discussed Dobrev’s emotional departure at the end of Season 6. Plec admitted that she missed Dobrev on set and would not hesitate to bring her back if she was willing. That being said, the showrunner also stated that it has been fun trying to figure out how to craft the series without Dobrev’s character.

Speaking of creative fun, fans can expect a crossover episode with The Originals when The Vampire Diaries returns this month. According to Variety, the president of The CW announced the crossover during the Television Critics Association press tour.

Shortly after the announcement, Plec, who was also present at the event, dished out a few more details about the crossover to the outlet. In particular, she explained how she wanted to find a creative way to incorporate a crossover into the show and not just write one for the sake of having a crossover.

Plec then described how she came up with the idea for the crossover, and that the installment would be related to Stefan’s trouble with magic. In order to prevent the magic from tracking him down, Stefan will travel to New Orleans in order to seek out the safety of St. James Infirmary.

“Stefan will go to New Orleans in a Vampire Diaries episode, and then he will remain in New Orleans in The Originals to help Klaus (Joseph Morgan) deal with a problem that is super specific to Stefan’s survival,” Plec revealed.

Fans can expect the epic crossover event to cover two different episodes. The installments are expected to kick off during the 14th episode of each series.

The Vampire Diaries is set to return to The CW with its brand new Friday night schedule on January 29.

Tell us! Do you think that Ian Somerhalder will leave The Vampire Diaries before it ends? Let us know in the comments and check out the preview for the next all-new episode below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmJB13OzMs

[Image via The CW]