Elijah Joining Vampire Diaries Spin-Off The Originals

Another Original has been added to the potential The Originals , the Vampire Diaries spin-off the centres on the first vampire family.

Daniel Gillies, who has played Elijah on and off since season two, episode eight of The Vampire Diaries , has now been confirmed as the third main star in the spin-off, joining Joseph Morgan as his brother Klaus and Phoebe Tonkin as werewolf Hayley.

All three will appear in The Vampire Diaries ’ 25 April episode, which will serve as a kind of co-opted pilot.
Written by executive producer Julie Plec, the episode sees Klaus return to the French Quarter of New Orleans, a supernatural melting pot that he helped build centuries ago, where he is reunited with his diabolical former protégé Marcel. Intent on helping his self-destructive brother find redemption, Elijah must side with Marcel’s enemies to keep Klaus in line.

But what of the other surviving Originals – Kol and Rebekah? Kol made a rather pointless cameo in the most recent episode of The Vampire Diaries which was clearly meant to remind everybody that he still exists, so the writers must have plans for him. But whether he and sister Rebekah will move onto the spin-off or if they are intended to keep flying the flag for the Originals in The Vampire Diaries has yet to be determined (possibly they’ll be flitting between the two). It would be unlikely for Hayley to be the only regular female character on the new show, but on the other hand, Plec and co may prefer to devise new characters.

• Read our reviews for The Vampire Diaries

Would you enjoy a Vampire Diaries party?

Dave Golder
Freelance Writer

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.