The "The Vampire Diaries" Season 8 will be the last time that fans will see the vampires of Mystic Falls if Ian Somerhalder's statement is to be believed.
Somerhalder, who plays the vampire Damon in the popular CW show, allegedly confirmed the status of the paranormal series during a press conference at the WalkerStalkerCon in Nashville, Tennessee on Sunday as shown in the convention's official Twitter account. "We have decided to do one last season to really do the story justice," he said.
According to Variety, a spokersperson from the CW refuted former "Lost" star's announcement by saying that there has been no decision made if the next season will indeed be the last.
The long-running series' seventh season finale will be shown in the CW channel on May 13. The network renewed the show for Season 8 along with all its currently-airing shows like "Jane The Virgin," "The Flash" and "iZombie."
Kat Graham, who portrays the witch Bonnie in "The Vampire Diaries," recently told reporters that she will leave the show after the eighth season. Us Weekly reports that the singer-actress describes the crew as the "hardest thing" she will let go once she exits the show.
"Season 8 will be my last season," Graham said. "I just hope that whatever I do after the crew can come with me. If the crew can come with me, then we'll be good. The crew is going to be the hardest thing to let go, because we are a family."
Series lead star Nina Dobrev was the first major cast member to leave "The Vampire Diaries" last year, citing her desire to make and act in films as the reason. She eventually starred in the action-comedy film "Let's Be Cops" and horror-comedy film "The Final Girls." She will also be one of the lead characters in the Vin Diesel-starring movie "xXx: The Return of Xander Cage."
Hollywood Life speculates a possible return for Dobrev should the news of Season 8 being the last season prove true with the expectation that Bonnie will die. This is because one of Dobrev's characters, Elena, will stay dead if Bonnie is alive. The limited appearance will most likely be two episodes at most, with reason to believe it will be on the expected two-part finale.
"The Vampire Diaries" started airing in 2009 and became very popular in overseas markets like China where it is watched by 100 million viewers every month. Season 8 is expected to air in fall 2016.
