‘General Hospital’ Casting News: Recast For Michelle Stafford’s Nina Emerges, Cynthia Watros To Take Over Role

General Hospital spoilers have just emerged, pinning down some essential information regarding the future of Nina Reeves. Fans have been speculating over this situation for the last few weeks, and now reports reveal that Nina won’t be leaving Port Charles anytime soon — even though actress Michelle Stafford is exiting the role.

As The Inquisitr previously shared, fans of both General Hospital and The Young and the Restless were dealt a major shocker recently. Michelle Stafford, who has played Nina on GH since originating the role in 2014, was quitting that show. She is returning to The Young and the Restless to again play Phyllis. This meant that Gina Tognoni, who has been portraying Phyllis for several years now, was booted.

When those initial reports emerged — and were soon confirmed by other cast members, as well as by Tognoni herself — General Hospital fans speculated about what the writers would do with Nina. She’s had a big storyline in recent months, and there’s obviously a major build-up playing out right now. However, some wondered if Nina might simply leave town once the lies were exposed.

Now, according to People, fans don’t have to wonder about this tidbit any longer. Rather than write out the character of Nina, General Hospital is recasting. Cynthia Watros will be taking over as Stafford exits.

A huge thank you to @TheRealStafford for bringing the role of "Nina" to life in 2014, we will miss you greatly! I'm excited to welcome @watroswatros to @GeneralHospital this summer who will take over the role! https://t.co/IRGSa35Wyx

— Nathan Varni (@nathanvarni) April 11, 2019

Many people remember Watros from her role as Libby on the long-running show Lost. However, she’s no newbie to the soap world. She played Annie on Guiding Light many years ago, and briefly appeared as Vicky on Another World. Her IMDb page notes that, more recently, she portrayed Kelly on The Young and the Restless.

As General Hospital fans speculated about who the show could tap to step in as Nina, Watros’ name did land on many people’s wish lists. While there were quite a few actresses who could easily make the character of Nina their own, the idea of Cynthia becoming Nina probably won’t feel like a difficult stretch for many viewers.

Stafford is still filming as Nina on General Hospital, and Tognoni has noted that she is still on The Young and the Restless for a few more weeks. It seems that Watros will begin filming her scenes in early June, so she will likely start appearing on-air in early or mid-July.

This casting news is now official, as ABC executive Nathan Varni took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to thank Stafford — and to welcome Watros to the role. It looks as if General Hospital fans may stay resistant to seeing Nina stick around after Michelle Stafford’s exit, at least for a while. However, if the show was determined to recast, and obviously they were, bringing someone like Cynthia Watros in might win everybody over sooner, rather than later.