Legacies Season 2 Could See Return of The Originals Characters According to Showrunner

As the third series in The CW's The Vampire Diaries universe, Legacies debuted with a devoted fanbase already excited to see where the series would take young Hope Mikaelson, the daughter of fan-favorite antihero Klaus Mikaelson who was the center of The Originals as well as the villain on The Vampire Diaries. And while the show has carved out its own place within the overall story, fans can't help but hope that familiar faces from the previous shows will eventually pop up once again in Mystic Falls. Now, showrunner Julie Plec is teasing that just might happen -- and sooner than you might think.

In a recent interview with CinemaBlend, Plec revealed that there is "an opportunity" to see some of the Originals make an appearance, but also made it clear that the story would dictate how that transpires.

"I think there's going to be an opportunity this year to see some of the Originals," Plec said. "I don't know who and I don't know when, but the way that Hope's storyline is shaping up, there's definitely a link to the family that got left behind ... that we will have to address at a certain point. And it would be nice to see a familiar face."

That "link" will be key. As fans of the series know, Hope (Danielle Rose Russell) sacrificed herself in the first season finale, eliminating the threat of the Malivore creature, but also erasing herself from the memories of everyone she knows as if she never existed at all. That would include not just her friends and loved ones at the Salvatore School, but the remnants of her family back in New Orleans. Given some of the wild twists and turns The Vampire Diaries universe has seen over the past decade, perhaps her Aunt Freya somehow remembers her or, perhaps, in whatever place Hope went when she sacrificed herself, she comes across her father, Klaus (Joseph Morgan), or her mother Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) for some parental advice. If she does encounter her family, it would be an extremely emotional moment for the series as both Klaus and Hayley died during the final season of The Originals.

And that might ultimately be the direction Legacies chooses to go. Russell herself has previously said that she would like to explore more of how Hope processes the death of her parents and what impact all the trauma she's dealt with has had on her.

"I'd really like to see how Hope Handles situations, traumatic situations, more on-screen," she told TV Guide earlier this year. "Because after the death of her parents, we kind of did a time jump, and we didn't really see that process, and I'd love to see that process explored a little bit more. And I'd also love to see the impact that it has on Hope and Landon (Aria Shahghasemi) because she did it for them, so it's kind of a beautiful and tragic dynamic that I'm really excited to see more of next year."

Would you like to see the return of a The Originals character in Season 2 of Legacies? Let us know in the comments below.