Somehow, nearly three years have passed since Paul Wesley last portrayed The Vampire Diaries' Stefan Salvatore, though the actor's sizable fanbase likely remembers his romantically fraught run as if it just ended yesterday. Wesley is returning to The CW for a new Arrow-verse gig that won't exactly pair him back up with vampires, but there will be bats!
Paul Wesley recently revealed he's making a temporary home in Vancouver, British Columbia to join Batwoman as the director of an upcoming episode. It's not exactly the ideal way that some might have liked to see the brooding actor making his introduction into The CW's Arrow-verse, since he would have made a killah Batwoman villain by all means. Still, it's an impressive move for Wesley's career behind the camera.
Batwoman's latest episode helmer shared the news of his DC-friendly new job via an Instagram Story, although Paul Wesley made sure that no one would be able to glean very many details from the shot of the script cover in the picture.
The CW has confirmed that the episode Paul Wesley is directing will be the 17th installment of Batwoman's freshman season. Episode 11, titled "An Un-Birthday Present" just aired this past Sunday, so we'll likely get to see Wesley's work on our TVs in March or early April. The episode's title has been obscured, presumably for plot secrecy purposes, and considering the huge twist that went down on Batwoman following the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover, the series could be heading in all kinds of directions over the next six eps.
It's also worth noting that the Batwoman episode will be written by Daphne Mills. It appears as if this is the first episode with Mills' full credit as writer, though she has worked as a script coordinator on this show, as well as Legends of Tomorrow, which she's written two episodes for. Mills has something of a working relationship with Paul Wesley, too, since she not only wrote an episode of The Vampire Diaries, but also served as a writers assistant for several seasons.
Though he's mostly known for his performances in front of the camera, Paul Wesley has been building up his resume as a TV director over the years. After first helming the Vampire Diaries episode "Resident Evil" in 2014, Wesley ended up directing four more TVD episodes before the show ended with Season 8.
After saying goodbye to Stefan Salvatore, Paul Wesley then directed a Season 2 episode of Shadowhunters in 2017, followed by a Season 1 installment of Roswell, New Mexico in 2019. His most recent work as a TV director took him back to the Vampire Diaries universe, where he helmed the 13th ep of The CW's popular Originals spinoff Legacies, a show where fans would love to see him show up on-screen, even if it wasn't Stefan, who has been referenced on the show already. (Since, you know, he says he never wants to play the character again.)
While it doesn't have anything to do with Gotham City or vampires, Paul Wesley also recently teamed back up with former co-star Ian Somerhalder to try their hand at making a signature bourbon. That's something Kate Kane would cheers to, probably.
Here's hoping this directorial debut within the Arrow-verse gets Paul Wesley comfortable enough with the subject matter that conversations start up surrounding a potential starring role somewhere. Sure, he's on CBS All Access' fairy tale thriller Tell Me a Story, but he's probably got enough off-time to figure out a recurring arc, right?
Batwoman airs Sunday nights on The CW at 8:00 p.m. ET, while Paul Wesley's Tell Me a Story hits CBS All Access on Wednesdays at 3:01 a.m. ET.
