Nina Dobrev has made it official:
The actress will, indeed, reprise her beloved role of Elena Gilbert on The Vampire Diaries Season 8 finale on March 10.
This episode will also mark the series finale of the long-running CW smash hit drama.
Dobrev left the series following Season 6, with her character being killed off at the hands of evil witch Kai.
Kind of. Sort of.
In the reality of the show, Elena was actually placed under a very serious sleeping spell and is unable to wake up until best friend Bonnie passes away.
Despite the absence of Dobrev for over a season now, however, the presence of Elena remains an ongoing series storyline.
She has often been referenced, most notably in relation to Ian Somerhalder’s Damon and whether he deserves to spend all of eternity with the love of his life.
Once she awakens and everything.
But it has long been rumored and/or assumed that Dobrev would come back for the show’s concluding episode, seeing as she departed on very good terms.
And the beautiful star has gone ahead and confirmed this assumption by sharing a photo of the series finale script.
“I know it’s Thursday, but this is not a TBT,” she wrote, adding the hashtags, “#BackOnSet #TVDForever.”
HOORAY, right?!?
It’s also worth noting the title of The Vampire Diaries series-ender will be “I Was Feeling Epic;” that Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson co-wrote it together; and that Plec is set to direct.
Lest you think Dobrev somehow broke protocol by releasing this piece of information, Plec released a statement soon after the above image went viral that reads:
“I’m thrilled to bring this show to an end the way we always intended – with Nina back to help us say goodbye.”
Added Williamson: “I’m so excited to have Nina back to ensure our farewell episode is truly epic!”
Dobrev actually appeared on the Season 7 finale as well this past May… in a manner of speaking.
Her voice was featured inside of Damon’s head and sources have confirmed that Dobrev recorded that narration for writers and producers.
As previously mentioned, Dobrev left the drama under very good circumstances, despite rumors at the time that claimed she couldn’t handle working with Somerhalder any longer.
The two dated for many years before breaking up and before Somerhalder moved on to marry Nikki Reed.
“I always knew I wanted Elena’s story to be a six season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime. I was a human, a vampire, a doppelganger, a crazy immortal, a doppelganger pretending to be human, a human pretending to be a doppelganger,” Dobrev wrote in a moving tribute upon announcing her farewell in 2015.
“I got kidnapped, killed, resurrected, tortured, cursed, body-snatched, was dead and undead, and there’s still so much more to come before the season finale in May.
“Elena fell in love not once, but twice, with two epic soulmates, and I myself made some of the best friends I’ll ever know and built an extended family I will love forever.”
Since exiting this show, Dobrev has starred in films such as xXx: Return of Xander Cage and the upcoming Flatliners remake.
And now it’s time to speculate:
Just how will Elena be brought back into the fold? Does this news mean that Bonnie will be killed off?
Or might we end on some kind of flash forward, with the series jumping ahead many decades and wrapping up with Elena returning to Damon’s arms?
Sound off below with your thoughts and hopes!