'The Vampire Diaries' season 8 release date, spoilers & updates: Nina Dobrev coming back as Katherine Pierce? 'Delena' legacy ends?

Is she or is she not? Fans of "The Vampire Diaries" season 8 are asking that about Nina Dobrev who, despite wild speculations that she's coming back for the series' swan song, hasn't confirmed nor denied anything. As it is, her comeback to the show is already shrouded by intrigues, so it's worth anticipating what will happen in the final season.

The series' showrunner, Julie Plec, has been vocal about her desire to bring Dobrev back to the show for its final season. Dobrev, who played lead female character Elena Gilbert/Katherine Pierce, left the show after season 6, but apparently, she told Plec she'll be back if the showrunner needs her.

Dobrev's character is vital to the story, and when she left, MTV said the prospect of the series moving on without Elena is "scary" and "like setting forth into the great unknown." True enough, there are speculations that the ratings and viewership of the series dropped upon Dobrev's exit, and some point to this as the reason why the show was axed.

Meanwhile, Paul Wesley, who plays Elena's first love Stefan Salvatore, seems to hint of the 27-year-old actress' return to the series through an Instagram post. According to reports, Wesley posted a photo from the set of "The Vampire Diaries" while hinting that Katherine Pierce might revisit Mystic Falls.

It will be recalled that just before Katherine was killed off, she expressed her love for Stefan, saying she's loved him ever since she first arrived in Mystic Falls to escape Klaus Michaelson (Joseph Morgan from the spin-off series "The Originals").

Fans are hoping that Dobrev returns as Elena if only to reunite with Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder). However, Somerhalder has already expressed that he doesn't want to work with his ex-flame again, as did Dobrev.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Plec said that "...whatever it is that Damon has to do could impact his ability to be reunited with Elena one day."

If Dobrev comes back as Katherine, she might be keener on getting back with Stefan. On the other hand, if she comes back as Elena, Damon's wrong choices could turn her off and send her running for comfort to Stefan. So it looks like whether the actress comes back as Elena or Katherine, the "Delena" legacy is no more.

"The Vampire Diaries" season 8 premieres Oct. 21 on The CW.