The Vampire Diaries fans are still reeling from the news that actress Kat Graham, who plays Bonnie Bennett on the show, is leaving after Season 8. Could this make way for a Nina Dobrev return?
Kat announced that she would depart from the show after next season no matter if the series was renewed or not. This means that the plan is to write the character of Bonnie out of the show and give her a proper goodbye to Mystic Falls and the viewers.
Wet Paint reported that showrunner Julie Plec revealed that she was a bit stunned by Kat Graham’s announcement of wanting to leave The Vampire Diaries , but is thankful that she has plenty of time to do the character justice before she sends her on her way to wherever she’ll go.
“I’ll be honest, Kat is thinking further ahead into the future than I even was. I was still wrapping my head around what the hell is in store for Season 8 and she’s jumping ahead to Season 9.
“I feel like knowing that she is feeling ready to move on and say goodbye to Bonnie, now it’s my challenge and the writers’ challenge to do right by that,” The Vampire Diaries exec added. “We have a year to do it so I’m excited to come up with all the different ways that her character can say goodbye.”
Meanwhile, Vampire Diaries fans are now dying to know if Bonnie’s departure could lead to a huge return for the series. As many viewers know, Nina Dobrev left the series after Season 7 as her character Elena Gilbert was put into a suspended sleep state that is linked to Bonnie’s human life. This means that as long as Bonnie is alive, Elena will stay asleep. If Bonnie were to leave the show because her character dies, it would only mean one thing for fans, and that would be the return of Elena Gilbert.
However, Nina Dobrev has seemingly made it pretty clear she has no plans to return to The Vampire Diaries . When she left the series, there were a lot of rumors circulating about her and her co-star Ian Somerhalder, who also happens to be her ex-boyfriend.
While Dobrev claimed to be leaving the series because she wanted to move on and try new things in her career, such as breaking into movies, rumors were flying that she actually left because of the tension with Ian Somerhalder and his new wife Nikki Reed.
Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder dated for about two years and when they decided to end their relationship they made it clear there were going to stay friends. The two appeared together to do press and at award shows, and looked to be making good on their promise. That is until Ian began dating Nina’s former friend Nikki Reed.
Fans began hearing rumblings that Nina Dobrev and Nikki Reed were engaged in a bitter feud that led Nikki to be jealous, overprotective, and even cause drama on set for The Vampire Diariescast. When rumors hit that Nina couldn’t take it anymore, she announced that she was leaving the series.
The Vampire Diaries Season 8 hasn’t been the same without her, although the show often mentions her name as Ian Somerhalder’s character, Damon Salvatore, is determined to be with his love again.
Since Nina’s departure, the show’s ratings have gone south and the series was even moved to the dreaded Friday night spot in the lineup. While many fans are thinking the end is near for The Vampire Diaries , a Nina Dobrev return would likely breathe new life into the show and persuade some former fans to return to the series to watch Damon and Elena reunite.
What are your thoughts on Kat Graham leaving The Vampire Diaries ? Do you want Nina Dobrev back on the show?
[Image via the CW]