Should The Vampire Diaries Get a Reboot?
The Vampire Diaries celebrates its 15th anniversary this week.
Believe it or not, it's been 15 years since television fans first went to Mystic Falls and found themselves in a world of vampires, drama, and love triangles. The Vampire Diaries, an adaptation of the book series of the same name written by L.J. Smith first debuted on September 10, 2009 on The CW and not only went on to run for 8 seasons, concluding on March 10, 2017, but ended up becoming its own franchise, launching two spinoff series, The Originals which debuted in 2013 and got 5 seasons of its own, and Legacies which debuted in 2018 and ran for 4 seasons in addition to comic books, web series, novels and more. Debuting at a time when vampire-themed entertainment was enjoying a high — movies like Twilight and series such as True Blood were both popular during the same era — The Vampire Diaries was very much of the moment, but the series has continued to maintain a very devoted fanbase to this day. The series remains popular on streaming platforms and questions about more stories in that universe come up from time to time. Now, with The Vampire Diaries reaching its 15-year milestone in a time where reboots and revivals are a major trend in entertainment, the question is being asked again: should The Vampire Diaries get a reboot? And the answer is probably not — but that doesn't have to be the end of the story.
The idea of a reboot of The Vampire Diaries is something that has come up before and it is something that even those involved with the original series aren't necessarily on board for. Series co-creator Julie Plec recently told Deadline that while she is interested in keeping The Vampire Diaries universe alive, she'd prefer to do it by going in "a different direction" rather than simply rebooting things.
"I think there are ways to keep the universe alive without having to go back and start over," Plec said. "So, if somebody were to ask me my preference, I would definitely want to go in a different direction. But I think it is a testament to all these shows and the mark that they made in the moment of pop culture, in that moment in time, to the fan base that has aged up an entire generation and still wants more, and to the new fans that have been able to discover it."
Stars of the series also don't think a reboot is necessary, at least not at this point. Nina Dobrev, who played Elena Gilbert, said last year that she feels it is simply too soon for a reboot, though she isn't opposed to reuniting with the series cast.
"Oh, my goodness, I think it's way too soon to be talking about a reboot, because it didn't even end that long ago," Dobrev said. "But I'm very close with Paul [Wesley] and Kayla [Ewell] and Candice [Accola] and Kat [Graham] and the list goes on because it was such a big part of our lives for so many years. So, it's hard not to stay in touch with everybody and see them when we can."
Wesley, who played Stefan Salvatore, however, has been more vocal about simply not wanting to revisit his character. For him, his time as the beloved vampire is done.
"I don't really miss anything about playing him, and I don't mean that in a [negative way,]" Wesley said in 2023. "Eight years is a long time, and I'm so glad to put that to rest. Eight seasons. Because the show ran for such a long time, in order for it to not become monotonous, every season, he sort of had a different arc. At one point he was pure evil, and he started out as the good guy and then he ended as the good guy. But I liked the challenge of trying to keep the character fresh."
While some of the original cast may not necessarily be on board with the idea of returning to their roles, a reboot wouldn't necessarily require them to return — but that in itself is another reason why a reboot isn't the best idea. For many, part of what makes The Vampire Diaries — and by extension the spinoff series The Originals — so beloved and iconic are the actors and the performances. It would be a hard sell for many to see someone other than Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore or Jospeh Morgan has antagonist Klaus Mikaelson, the latter of which ended up going on to lead The Originals. It would also be difficult for some to embrace a new take on the story given how the overall stories of many of the primary characters ended. The series finale of The Originals in particular is beloved for many fans of the franchise and would be very tricky to deal with in a satisfying way should the overall story that ultimately leads to Klaus' sacrifice get a redo. And for some fans, any reboot of The Vampire Diaries would have to be almost an entirely different series altogether — and not just because of a need for new cast. The original series made some major deviations from Smith's novels and some fans have been vocal over the years about wanting to see a more faithful adaptation of those stories made.
Perhaps the biggest reason The Vampire Diaries — and by extension its whole franchise universe — doesn't need a reboot is that television as we know it now simply wouldn't support it. To start with, the network where The Vampire Diaries thrived functionally no longer exists in the same way. Nexstar acquired The CW in 2022 and soon after began a major shift in its content. In May 2022, the network cancelled numerous series — including Legacies — and since then have begun to focus more on shows acquired from outside of the United States, unscripted programming, and sports. Prior to the programming change, The CW was one of the only networks where series geared towards a young adult audiences really had a place. Now, such programming would need to shift to streamers.
And that itself poses challenges. The Vampire Diaries was part of a time in television when a 22-episode season was the norm and that simply isn't the case now. Instead, series are increasingly seeing much shorter seasons with much longer time between seasons — if they get additional seasons at all. It could be a real challenge to build the sort of storytelling that made The Vampire Diaries so popular over an eight-episode season and also build an audience that would give the viewership numbers that would grant the series further seasons. The question of whether The Vampire Diaries could even exist in the current television landscape is a big one, especially when shows within established major franchises like Star Wars are sometimes, unfortunately, one and done.
All of that said, just because we don't need a The Vampire Diaries reboot at this time or one isn't necessarily a good idea doesn't mean that it has to be the end of the story. Plec has said previously back in 2022 that she had plans for another installment of The Vampire Diaries universe and that there were more ideas and more to do, but she's also spoken about the potential for a movie or other outlets to continue or even revisit the story that aren't necessarily reboots. For Plec, things like Twilight getting new life as an animated series feels like something they could do but more than that, there are new stories to be told.
"You know what, Paul Wesley and I were literally just texting two days ago because he saw the news about the Twilight animated show and he's like, 'Why aren't we doing this?' And I said, 'Good question. We should do this,'" Plec told The Hollywood Reporter. "There are so many opportunities to keep this world alive and keep this franchise going. For me, it's just about the right idea and the right time, like I'm game. Leslie Morgenstein started talking about a Vampire Diaries movie in like season two, so I'm sure that it's something he still continues to pursue quietly. We've talked about all kinds of different ways to revisit parts of the story that we love or to tell a new version of the story. I know those conversations are always happening. I personally know that there is a story that I would like to tell if anyone will have me eventually, so we shall see."
The Vampire Diaries is now streaming on Peacock and Max.
