• Ian Somerhalder plays the lead role of Damon Salvatore in "The Vampire Diaries" TV series.

Ian Somerhalder plays the lead role of Damon Salvatore in "The Vampire Diaries" TV series. (Photo : Facebook/ Ian Somerhalder)

"The Vampire Diaries" season 8 will see Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) following the footsteps of an evil character who will be manipulating him.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Julie Plec said that the new big bad will treat Damon as his or her judge, jury and executioner.

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"Damon has unfortunately become a little bit of a servant to an evil who has an opinion on what should happen to people who do bad things. He's a little bit of a minion at the moment, and we'll have to learn who he's a minion for and why," she said.

Meanwhile, "The Vampire Diaries" season 8 will be the last for the hit The CW series. Last month, TV Line reported that the series will be cancelled by the network at the end of its upcoming season.

The news didn't come as a surprise to fans who already learned that Somerhalder and Kat Graham will be leaving the series after season 8.

Plec also told the publication that she has plans to invite Nina Dobrev to the show's finale even before the cancellation of "The Vampire Diaries" has been confirmed.

"It's what she and I kind of agreed on when she decided to move on, and it's what I've got in my head. Obviously things can change throughout time, if the show goes on longer than we expect it to, or if we all collectively decide it would be fun to bring her back earlier, and she wanted to... I'm sticking with my side of the plan, which is to bring her back at the very end," she said.

"The Vampire Diaries" season 8 will premiere on The CW on Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. ET.

In other news, after "The Vampire Diaries" ends, the producers of the series will be involved in a new project under The CW and Warner Bros. According to Deadline, Plec, Chad Fiveash and James Stoteraux will produce the show "Rise," is a new TV show that will focus on the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Plec will executive produce the show, while Fiveash and Stoteraux will pen the script.