The fantasy drama Legacies will return to The CW for Season 3 in early 2021. The third series in the The Vampire Diaries franchise, Legacies is centered around teen vampire/werewolf/witch Hope Mikaelson, who was first introduced to audiences in The Originals. Hope is descended from powerful vampire, werewolf and witch families; however, viewers have yet to see her vampire side.
Here’s what we know so far about Legacies Season 3, including plot details, casting information, release window and more.
The Story So Far
Taking place within the Vampire Diaries universe, Legacies follows Hope Mikaelson, the 17 year-old daughter of werewolf Hayley Marshall and vampire-werewolf hybrid Klaus Mikaelson. Given her vampire, werewolf and witch lineage, Hope is what’s known as a tribrid -- although she has yet to access her vampire powers.
She attends the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, an idyllic campus for supernatural students of all stripes that is part Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and part Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Naturally, nothing is as peaceful as it seems at the Salvatore School, and these magical students soon face off against werewolf hunters, government agents seeking to suppress supernatural beings and Malivore, a monstrous creation capable of consuming both supernaturals and humans.
In Season 2 of Legacies, Hope and her fellow students struggle to save Josie -- and the entire school -- after the 16 year-old witch absorbs all of the black magic stored in the Mora Miserium, a supernatural hourglass used by witches. However, production on Season 2 came to an abrupt halt in March 2020 due to COVID-19, inadvertently leaving fans with a cliffhanger, as Hope has yet to awaken after entering Josie’s subconscious.
Season 3 is sure to pick up where the truncated second season left off, revealing the fates of Hope and her boyfriend Landon, who was also still unconscious when viewers last saw him. Fans will also be eager to learn what has become of the Necromancer, who takes all of Josie’s dark magic at the end of Season 2.
Cast and Crew
With the fates of Hope and Landon still up in the air, it remains to be seen if actors Danielle Rose Russell and Aria Shahghasemi will return for Season 3 of Legacies -- although the Necromancer (Ben Geurencs) did promise to resurrect the students at the end of Season 2.
Other characters expected to return for the third season include twins Josie and Lizzie (Kaylee Bryant and Jenny Boyd, respectively), headmaster Alaric (Matt Davis), Alaric’s student aide MG (Quincy Fouse) and Landon’s foster brother Rafael (Peyton Alex Smith).
There is also the potential for additional characters from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, such as Bonnie (Kat Graham), Caroline (Candice King) or even Hope's mom, Hayley Marshall (Phoebe Tonkin), to make an appearance on Legacies -- although producers maintain that any such storyline would have to make sense in the context of the larger narrative arc.
Release Window
While producers initially planned to finish off Season 2 sometime in 2020, those plans shifted as delays continued to mount a because of COVID-19. The CW has now opted to return with an all-new season of Legacies in early 2021, with series creator Julie Plec calling Season 2, Episode 16 a “fun accidental season finale.” Season 3 of Legacies is set to premiere in January 2021.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.