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Vampire Diaries Actor to Star in Netflix’s Vampire Series V-Wars
Ian Somerhalder has locked down his next role after his hit television series The Vampire Diaries ended its run in 2017. The actor will sticking with the same genre, as he has recently signed on to star in Netflix’s upcoming vampire drama series V-Wars. The latest offering from the streaming service will be based on IDW’s comic book series of the same name written by best-selling author Jonathan Maberry.
Somerhalder ended his 8 season run as resident brooding bad boy-turned good vampire Damon Salvatore on The CW’s hit series The Vampire Diaries last year when the series wrapped. Surprisingly, his role in V-Wars has Somerhalder hanging up his fangs to assume the role of the very human Dr. Luther Swann, who is introduced to the horrific world of vampires when a mysterious disease transforms his best friend, Michael Fayne, into a murderous predator who feeds on other humans.
THR is reporting that the series, which already has a 10 episode order, will be produced by High Park Entertainment and distributed worldwide by IDW Entertainment (save for Canada). Stargate and Stargate Atlantis‘s Brad Turner will both direct and executive produce the pilot episode of the series, with William Laurin and Glenn Davis (Power Play, Aftermath) serving as the showrunners. Here is the official statement regarding the news from David Ozer, President, IDW Entertainment (who will also serve as one of the series’ co-executive producers):
“We could not have dreamed of a better choice than Ian Somerhalder to bring his keen understanding of this genre from his years of starring in The Vampire Diaries to lead the cast of V-Wars as Dr. Luther Swann and to be a creative force on this series, as well as to serve as a director this season. We are thrilled to partner with Netflix to bring the multifaceted world that Jonathan Maberry created to audiences worldwide.”
V-Wars will follow Somerhalder’s character Swann as more and more people become infected by a mysterious virus that divides society into monsters and humans. Swann is desperate to find out what is happening and why, while his friend Fayne becomes the leader of the vampire underground. It seems the perfect role for Somerhalder, who knows exactly what it takes to make a series about blood sucking monsters successful, thanks to his experience playing a vampire on television for 8 seasons. Viewers will probably appreciate that the actor wasn’t type cast as vampire character, instead allowing him to play a bit against type. Die hard fans may be upset however, given how talented he was with his portrayal of Salvatore.
Judging from Ozer’s statement above, it also looks like Somerhalder will be wearing a director hat on V-Wars in addition to starring. The 39 year old actor directed three episodes of The Vampire Diaries during its seventh and eight seasons, so it will definitely be interesting to see how he brings both his acting chops and directing skills to his latest series. Netlix’s original programming has consistently earned itself an audience amongst subscribers, and there’s no doubt that its latest offering will appeal not only to Somerhalder and Vampire Diaries fans, but to fans of binge-watching in general.
