"The Vampire Diaries" season 8 is rumored to feature the much-awaited return of Nina Dobrev's character Elena Gilbert.
According to Celeb Dirty Laundry, the actress' return and the fans' response to it will determine whether or not the hit The CW series will still be renewed for season 9.
Unfortunately, there are also some rumors that Ian Somerhalder's wife Nikki Reed is not looking forward to Dobrev's return to the series.
In an interview with TV Line, executive producer Julie Plec said that her hope for the finale episode of "The Vampire Diaries" is that Dobrev will return to reprise her role.
Immediately after, cast member Somerhalder announced his departure from the series.
The timely exit of the actor suggests that if Somerhalder will leave "The Vampire Diaries" at the end of season 8 and will never return, Elena should be back around the same time as well.
After all, there wouldn't be much storyline to be explored if Dobrev returns to "The Vampire Diaries" when Somerhalder is no longer there.
Unfortunately, nothing has been confirmed yet with regards to Dobrev's fate in the series. What is only known is that Somerhalder and his co-star Kat Graham will both be saying goodbye to Mystic Falls at the end of the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, some fans of "The Vampire Diaries" do not necessarily agree with Plec when she said that Elena should still be part of the finale episode.
On Design N Trend's website, one fan @tanyaleigh said that she only liked the character of Dobrev when she was portraying Elena's doppelganger Katherine.
Some fans also believe that even though Elena or Dobrev is not their favorite in "The Vampire Diaries," her return is essential to the storylines.
"But there are more fans that do want to see her back again, as for her return it is needed and essential since the books and the stories are about her that's what some of these dull fans seem to miss, it would be pretty stupid not to have her back to properly close out her storyline out..." the same fan wrote.
"The Vampire Diaries" season 8 will return to The CW sometime this fall. The series will also introduce some new characters in its upcoming episodes.