Legacies Season 1 just finished its run, with multiple characters from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals either stopping by or being name-dropped on the spinoff. (cough Caroline cough) Julie Plec is the ruler of The Vampire Diaries Universe, and she revealed that they will be writing Season 2 in June, and they'll start filming the new season in late July.
So this is the planning period, and also probably the time that they send out feelers to certain stars to ask/beg them to at least cameo in Legacies Season 2. The Legacies finale made it clear they'd love the twins' uncle Kai Parker to be part of Season 2, but Julie Plec also named a few more Originals/Vampire Diaries characters she'd like to see back.
Aside from me totally secret-ing into existence Kai Parker's appearance on this show, there's plenty of people I'd love to see. I'd love to see Bonnie (Katerina Graham). I'd love to see Caroline (Candice King) obviously. I'd love to see Freya (Riley Voelkel) and Vincent (Yusuf Gatewood) and Auntie Rebekah (Claire Holt). ... The door is always open, and it's just really a matter of being able to match up interest from these actors and story opportunity at the right time.
As Julie Plec told TV Guide, it's a matter of matching up interest, availability, and storylines. Legacies Season 1 proved it's a great show in its own right, it's just a matter of whether the stars want to return to the characters they played for so long on shows that wrapped up their storylines only a year or two ago.
Julie Plec acknowledged her shameless plug for Kai Parker in the Legacies Season 1 finale, but added that -- beyond pressuring Chris Wood -- there is no guarantee that Kai will join Season 2 to continue Lizzie and Josie Saltzman's Ascendant/Gemini Coven/Merge storyline.
As for her other Vampire Diaries and Originals suggestions, most of her picks are the same folks I had also singled out as fitting in perfectly in the spinoff. Caroline Forbes-Salvatore is the most obvious choice, as we all know, because she is the twins' mother and got name-dropped pretty much every week. Candice King was a no-show in Legacies Season 1, so now it's a question of Season 2.
Julie Plec tweeted some answers to fans' questions after the Legacies Season 1 finale, and of course she was asked about Caroline appearing in Season 2:
So far, it's only a hope for Caroline/Candice.
It might also just be a hope for Bonnie Bennett. Bonnie would fit in perfectly with how Legacies Season 1 ended, since Bonnie was the one who put Kai in his current Prison World, with the help of young Lizzie and Josie's Gemini Coven magic.
Kat Graham has been pretty busy since leaving The Vampire Diaries, and when Hollywood Life recently asked her about returning to the franchise as Bonnie, she was understandably hesitant:
Eight years is such a journey, and I felt like I spent more time as Bonnie in my twenties, the age that you’re really learning who you are and going through self-exploration that we all have as women in our twenties, and I spent more time as this character than myself. I think I did what I could do and expressed what I could personally express through this character as much as I could. I’m never gonna say never because I think the universe has a funny way of putting you exactly where you’re supposed to be with exactly who you’re supposed to be with. But, I think right now I’m having a good time getting to know myself better.
The Vampire Diaries only ended two years ago, and The Originals actually only ended not quite one year ago. So everyone gets that many of the stars are ready for a break.
That said, Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) is the main character of the spinoff Legacies. Season 1 ended with everyone forgetting Hope, but she has a long history out there and it would be great to have her Mikaelson family back in the mix to help fill in the gaps.
Julie Plec mentioned Hope's Aunt Freya, Aunt Rebekah (who was last seen engaged to Marcel) and Vincent. Plec already said Vincent was the Mikaelson family friend Hope sent Landon to see in New Orleans. Last we heard, Vincent had agreed to be the father of Freya and Keelin's kids. And Legacies recently referenced Freya as the one who actually explained The Merge to Hope over the phone.
Everything is happening off-screen at this point, but it would make sense to see more Mikaelsons on screen. Right now, Freya actress Riley Voelkel is still in The CW family with Roswell, New Mexico, so maybe she'll find time for at least a cameo in Season 2.
We'd all love to see Hope's father Klaus Mikaelson (Joseph Morgan) again, but the Necromancer did update that Klaus has no regrets about his decision to sacrifice himself at the end of The Originals. We can probably expect to hear Klaus name-dropped a lot, but it wouldn't make sense to see him.
Same for Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). Stefan sacrificed himself -- it's such a TVDU trend -- in The Vampire Diaries finale. However, Legacies Season 1 revealed that Elena Gilbert-Salvatore (Nina Dobrev) and Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) had a daughter Stefanie that they named in Stefan's honor.
Julie Plec was asked if we might see Damon and Elena's kids on Legacies, and here's her response:
That would be so great. The Vampire Diaries lasted for eight seasons and The Originals went for five. We don't know how long Legacies might last, so it's possible some past stars will show up in, say, Season 4.
Legacies Season 1 already saw plenty of returnees from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals -- Alaric Saltzman (Matt Davis), obviously, as headmaster of the Salvatore school and father of Lizzie and Josie; Sheriff Matt Donovan (Zach Roerig) in a couple of episodes; Jeremy Gilbert (Steven R. McQueen) in a cameo; Jo Laughlin (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) as the undead Mombie Dearest biological mother of the twins in her heartbreaking episode; and, for some reason, Roman (Jedidiah Goodacre) came back, although they didn't do enough with him to really justify that.
Legacies paid homage to The Vampire Diaries and The Originals all year, from The Merge references for the twins to the Klaroline dress that Klaus gave Caroline, which Lizzie then gave Hope for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant.
But one of the most asked questions after Legacies Season 1 -- beyond What's Going To Happen With Hope? -- was if Penelope Park (Lulu Antariksa) would return. Penelope is a brand new Legacies character, showing that Legacies can stand on its own. It doesn't need to have Vampire Diaries/Originals characters return, but since it's a spinoff it does make sense to see certain past characters pop in.
Julie Plec said she can't make promises on any characters for Legacies Season 2 -- from Penelope to Caroline, Kai, and beyond -- because there are so many factors involved. But cross your fingers for good news as Season 2 filming approaches over the summer. That's when we should get more firm details on who might be back and for how long, before the fall 2019 premiere on The CW. Who would you most like to see return for Legacies Season 2?
