Legacies was canceled after season 4, but plans for season 5’s story were already underway. Here’s the Legacies season 5 that never was – explained.
The Vampire Diaries spinoff Legacies was canceled after season 4 and since then, quite a bit has come out about the Legacies season 5 canceled story plans. The second TVD spinoff after The Originals, Legacies was decidedly different in tone and focus. Instead of focusing on adults playing teenagers–or just adults–Legacies’ cast skewed decidedly younger. The tone was much lighter and campier, with the story revolving around the students of the Salvatore School facing down a multitude of foes in a monster-of-the-week style setup.
Ratings for Legacies continued to drop, however, and in the middle of the Warner Bros.-Discovery merger, the decision was made to cancel it following season 4. Still, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t already plans for Legacies season 5. Since the show’s cancelation, the TVD universe creator, Julie Plec, and multiple Legacies writers have revealed there were indeed concrete ideas for a Legacies season 5 story arc. The plans even included introducing a few long-awaited characters into the Vampire Diaries universe.
Legacies season 5 not only would have picked things up where Legacies season 4 left off, but it would also have pushed The Vampire Diaries franchise in a bold new direction. Interestingly, Legacies showrunner Brett Matthews revealed that Legacies season 5 would have involved a time jump:
“We would have been in a time-jump scenario. I think the fun of the fifth season would be to really take those characters, who had reached such a good place in the school, and then move them beyond it and throw them in lives beyond it and seeing where they were and how they would all find their way back to one another.”
Despite coming to a satisfying ending, the season finale of the Vampire Diaries spinoff had quite a bit of setup for a potential Legacies season 5. The season 4 finale saw Jed and Ben, now both free of their “curses,” striking out together. Presumably, Legacies season 5’s story would have found them both grappling without their powers and perhaps learning that what they had viewed as curses were, in fact, gifts. Legacies season 5 was also set to focus more on Kaleb and Cleo; season 4 hinted that her new powers of clairvoyance as an Oracle would have a larger part to play.
One of the biggest pulls of Legacies, like all spinoffs of The Vampire Diaries, was the characters and their intermingled bloodlines (a key theme in a show about vampires and immortals of all shapes and sizes). Legacies season 5 was set to both continue this trend and flip it on it head. Arguably, the biggest change would have been the introduction of Stephanie Salvatore, the daughter of The Vampire Diaries’ Elena and Damon in Legacies season 5. As creator Julie Plec revealed:
“[Stephanie was] very much at the top of our white board as a character that we were planning on introducing, should the show move forward. In my mind, Damon and Elena had kids in our timeline. The way we alluded to her in the genie episode was as though she was 12 or 13. But in the Legacies timeline, their kids were younger, probably toddlers.”
Since there are actual concrete plans for a Legacies season 5 story, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be told in a different medium. A very different teen vampire show decided to continue on their story in the form of a comic, and that show was the iconic Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After Buffy ended in 2003, there was of course the spinoff series Angel, but there was also the Buffy comic book series which continued the vampire slayer’s story.
Julie Plec, one of the co-creators of The Vampire Diaries, wasn’t too happy there wasn’t a Legacy season 5. When The CW canceled Legacies, it ended the 13-year run of TVD universe, and was just the start of the purge of genre shows from the network. When the cancelation news came, Plec took to Twitter to mourn the loss of the series, calling it the Red Wedding at The CW. That referenced the wedding on Game of Thrones that resulted in the shocking deaths of several characters. She then finished with, “Loads of gratitude coming for fans and cast and crew in future tweets. But today, we mourn.”
It’s been just over a year since The CW unceremoniously shut down the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted. And while you’d think we’d be over it by now… we’re not.
When we reflect upon Legacies‘ untimely cancellation, we’re still haunted by those same familiar feelings — rage over how it all went down (thanks for nothing, Nexstar!), disappointment over the Vampire Diaries franchise being robbed of a proper ending after 13 years on the network, and most importantly, FOMO over all the major moments we’ll never get to watch unfold.
To that end, TVLine is taking stock of five storylines we wish we’d gotten to experience in a fifth season of Legacies. From the return of a fan-favorite witch to the arrival of a character we still can’t believe exists, our wishlist checks off quite a wide array of boxes.
Candice King’s brief return as the iconic Caroline Forbes was easily the series finale’s most bittersweet turn of events. We were given a taste of what this show could be with Caroline serving as the Salvatore School’s new headmistress, and we aren’t just hungry for more — we’re absolutely starving.
We know that the Vampire Diaries Universe loves a good slow-burn romance, but the four seasons we waited for M.G. and Lizzie to finally get together felt like an eternity. Ready for some irony? Now that they’re both members of the undead, they actually have an eternity to spend together… and we don’t even get to enjoy it! That’s just cruel.
From the moment Stefanie Salvatore’s name was spoken aloud in Legacies‘ first season, she became a legend. An enigma. A horribly wonderful idea. Come on, the daughter of Damon and Elena Salvatore, named after her late uncle Stefan? This was simply too ridiculous to be true…until it wasn’t.
One of the greatest tragedies of Legacies‘ premature cancellation was that Kaylee Bryant never got the chance to bring Josie Saltzman back to Mystic Falls. Bryant left the show midway through its final season, putting some much-needed distance between Josie and the increasingly toxic Salvatore School. But with so many loose ends left untied back home, we’re hopeful that a fifth season would lure her back, if even just for a quick visit to provide some closure.
The word “epic” gets thrown around a lot when discussing the TVDU, but few things are more deserving of that descriptor than the Mikaelson family, whose sprawling history and complicated dynamics have provided endless storylines across all three shows.
Legacies is a spin-off of the popular series The Vampire Diaries. It focuses on Hope Mikaelson, the daughter of Niklaus Mikaelson, the main character from The Originals. The Season 4 finale tied a lot of loose ends, the biggest one being Klaus finally finding Peace as he wishes Hope the best for her future. But what exactly is that future? Legacies: Season 5?
When Is Legacies: Season 5 Being Released?
Legacies: Season 4 was revealed to be the final season, so Legacies: Season 5 is not coming. The CW has taken down a huge number of its shows, including In The Dark, Batwoman, and Legends Of Tomorrow. Legacies: Season 5 is simply another casualty.
Will The Cast Return For Legacies: Season 5?
It’s upsetting for fans that Legacies: Season 5 got canceled, but it’s not the end for the actors. There’s more than one show to watch your favorite stars on. Here’s what some of Legacies’ cast members are currently up to.
Danielle Rose Russell (Hope Mikaelson) unfortunately doesn’t have anything lined up for now. Hope from Legacies and The Originals are her most recent roles. You can also catch her in her past films like Measure Of A Man, Pandemic, and Wonder.
