‘The Vampire Diaries’ Season 8 Air Date, News & Update: Nina Dobrev’s Return Confirmed! She ‘100 Percent Wants To Be There’

"The Vampire Diaries" Season 8 is finally here, and fans are still waiting for confirmation of Nina Dobrev's return to the vampire world. Fortunately, creator Julie Plec just revealed that she is very confident that Dobrev will be back.

According to Celeb Dirty Laundry, Plec has a really good feeling about Elena's epic return to Mystic Falls. "I feel very good about it! I know that [Nina] 100 percent wants to be there and I, of course, 100 percent want [Nina] to be there. I have a feeling the cards are in our favor," Plec stated.

Apparently, the biggest obstacle on Elena's return is to Dobrev's complicated schedule, according to Entertainment Tonight. Of course, rumors have also persisted that Dobrev will join "The Originals" once "The Vampire Diaries" is over.

Plec kept her silence about Dobrev's involvement in the show's final season, but it sounds like her contract is a done deal. Fans speculated that Dobrev will probably have a large part in the new season or make a cameo in the finale episode.

 "Oh, I am very excited. We get little hints and teases of her face all through the season. Damon's memories of her play a big part of the season, and I was just looking at a scene yesterday and being able to see her face brought back so much emotion and nostalgia and sweetness," Plec admitted. "It's lovely to have her in the narrative in the way that she is."

According to Pop Wrapped, Elena was last seen going into a deep sleep until Bonnie's (Kat Graham) death. While this left the door open for Nina Dobrev's return, Damon really struggled to cope with her absence last season. In fact, his downhill spiral left him possessed by an evil entity by the season finale, and there's no telling where his darkness will take him this season.

Considering how Dobrev's return is now confirmed, there is a possibility that things end well for at least one of the Salvatore brothers. Meanwhile, fans of are happy that Caroline and Stefan finally connected at the end of last season following her breakup with Alaric (Matt Davis). Their relationship reached a point where they decided to move in together; though no mention of wedding plans yet. To complicate their situation, Caroline is dealing with raising her kids this season and working things out with Alaric when "The Vampire Diaries" Season 8 airs.