Comic-Con 2013: ‘The Vampire Diaries’ Panel

Kicking off the penultimate panel of Saturday’s TV schedule, the cast and crew of The CW’s ‘The Vampire Diaries’ assembled in Ballroom 20 at Comic-Con today to preview the coming fifth season! From glimpses of life on the other side, to the collegiate road ahead and plenty of tantalizing hookups, hear what the stars and creative minds behind The CW’s major supernatural hit have to say going into the fifth season, with a spin-off in tandem!

We first saw a series recap that took us all the way through the fourth season, most prominently focusing on the emergence of new big bad Silas, and Damon’s subsequent imprisonment! Series creator Julie Plec teased that big bads on the series have a way of getting swallowed up by the next big bad, but Silas will definitely prove a major factor going into season 4.

On one hand, Plec previewed that she wanted explore the characters as happy, partuclarly Elena with her ultimate choice to be with Stefan even as she heads to college, but plenty of other bloody conflicts will arise. Here’s what the cast and crew of the CW drama had to break down for the hungry fans in the audience:

• Nina Dobrev teased that Elena and Stefan were definitely in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, to which Paul Wesley ominously wished the couple well, citing his exhaustion with Elena and excitement at playing the bad guy this year.
• Katherine will have a great deal to adjust to this season, having been given the cure by Elena, and no longer able to manipulate people in the manner she once had.
• Caroline will be doing plenty of partying in college, picking some “wild apples” so to speak, but Klaus will likely be too busy in New Orleans to put in any visits, at least for now.
• Newly dead and crossed over to the “other side,” Bonnie will continue to communicate with Jeremy and attempt to keep her secret as she struggles to come to grips with the sacrifice she’s made. Bonnie’s new ordeal will also give us a look into the other side, while Jeremy’s dealing with the circumstances of his return will be dealt with in the premiere.
• The inevitable question of a movie adaptation came up, though Julie Plec and Ian Somerhalder insisted they’ve made close to 100 movie-quality episodes already. That said, the 100th episode is being kept firmly under wraps for now.
• As Julie Plec put it, Klaus may have his hands full in New Orleans, but that isn’t to say Caroline might not get her own hands full … of Klaus. Hello, ‘Originals'!

Well, what say you ‘Vampire Diaries’ fans? Are you excited to see season 4 cross into new territory? Which characters are you most excited to pick up with?