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‘General Hospital’ Spoilers: If Steve Burton’s Not Jason, Here’s Who He Could Play In ‘GH’ Return

By Belynda Gates Turner
Published on: 10:52 PST, Jul 18, 2017

General Hospital spoilers have teased since news broke of Steve Burton’s return to the ABC soap that he would play Jason Morgan, but Billy Miller is in that role. There have been rumors of a twin twist coming, but GH fans seem divided on whether they want Burton back as the “real” Jason or prefer the show to stick with Miller and have Burton in another role.

Many GH fans noticed that at the end of the promo video announcing his return to the soap (scroll to see below) that Steve Burton’s eyes were dark brown instead of his natural light color, sparking speculation that he would not be back as the blue-eyed ex-mobster. Sure, General Hospital could bring back Burton as Jason and create a big mess, but there are lots of alternatives for other characters that he could play.

GH has a successful track record of bringing back legacy actors in other roles. Former Carly Corinthos actress Sarah Brown went brunette to play mob vixen Claudia Zacchara, and fans loved her. Plus, Michael Easton has played several roles on GH, so why not Steve Burton?

Steve Burton could play a new mobster on GH

With Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) making plans to exit the mob, both Jason and Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) warned him that someone could step into the power vacuum and take over his territory. Just as Sarah Brown returned as a tough new mobster, Steve Burton could play a new mob threat in Port Charles that takes on Sonny. It would be interesting to see Benard and Burton play rivals since their characters as Sonny and Jason were BFFs.

Burton could be a recast or someone back from the dead

There have been General Hospital spoilers and rumors for a while that we might see Nikolas Cassadine recast. Steve Burton is three years older than Tyler Christopher, but that’s close enough in the soap world. Might GH be plotting a major twist and bringing back Burton to play a legacy character, just not his own? Some soap fans on social media expressed interest in seeing Burton come back as AJ Quartermaine, although that character has been dead for years.

Steve Burton could be the “real” Valentin Cassadine

One criticism GH fans have of Valentin as played by James Patrick Stuart is that he’s not the big bad wolf everyone expected. Perhaps this Valentin is an imposter that stole the real Valentin’s identity. Remember there was that unexplained fire at Valentin’s British boarding school that was mentioned then dropped. It could have been to cover up the fact that he’s not the real deal and took the identity of a school mate. Burton back as a real scary Cassadine out to punish his imposter would be a treat. You never know.

General Hospital could cast Steve as Amy’s brother

Another character that is yet to be seen, but whose name was dropped recently, is Amy Driscoll’s (Risa Dorken) troubled big brother Chet Driscoll. The guy was a former football star (perfect for the buff Burton) who now struggles with PTSD and is a veteran. That sounds a lot like Burton’s Dylan McAvoy character from The Young and the Restless, doesn’t it? Chet might have been mentioned by GH because it’s a role created for the returning Burton.

What about a Webber with a Burton recast?

Liz Webber (Rebecca Herbst) has almost no family in town, and we know from General Hospital spoilers that Hayden Barnes (Rebecca Budig) was written off the show. But Liz has a big brother who hasn’t been seen in ages – Steve Webber, formerly played by Scott Reeves. Burton is the right age to play a Steve Webber recast, and he’s even real-life pals with Scott Reeves. But it would be a very Gift of the Magi phenomenon if Hayden left just as big brother Webber came back to town.

New doctor, lawyer, police chief?

There are almost unlimited options for new characters that Steve Burton could play. He could be a new doctor at General Hospital, or the new DA or a new lawyer to rival Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn). Burton bringing his cop sensibilities from his Y&R days would be great since the current police chief Jordan Ashford (Vinessa Antoine) is a hot mess and a terrible investigator. Steve could walk on the right side of the law as a detective if he’s not returning to play Jason Morgan.

Nothing confirmed for Steve Burton’s new role

Some GH spoilers speculated that Steve Burton would only return for a short guest arc as one of Sam Morgan’s (Kelly Monaco) hallucinations caused by her illness. However, Burton himself told fans via Facebook live chat, “I’ll be there for a while” as reported by ABC Soaps in Depth.

Knowing Burton is back to GH for a long-term stint, that means everything is wide open. The alum could be back to play Jason Morgan, inciting doppelganger Jason or he could be a brand new or return past GH character. Nothing has been confirmed by ABC, General Hospital or the actor, so we’ll have to hold tight until we get firm GH spoilers to know the truth.

In the meantime, there’s a kidnapping drama that kicked off today that has fans wondering if Nikolas Cassadine is back and lots more General Hospital spoilers action to come the week of July 17-21.

[Featured Image by Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock]

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