Eileen Davidson Returning To ‘Days Of Our Lives,’ Another Sign Of Possible EJ DiMera Recast?

The surprise announcements of cast members returning to “Days of Our Lives” has continued, and the latest person to announce they are heading back to Salem may be another big sign that a fan favorite character who is believed to be dead may be making a surprise return during November Sweeps later this year.

According a report in TV Insider, Eileen Davidson, who won a Daytime Emmy for portraying the evil Kristen DiMera on the NBC soap, will be seen again during November Sweeps, and has already begun filming on the Salem set once again. However, there are no guarantees that Davidson’s return means Kristen is the one who will be making a reappearance in the show.

Read: Chandler Massey Is Returning To “Days Of Our Lives”

According to the report, a rep for the show said that “the exact role—or roles—Eileen will be playing this time around is strictly under wraps. It’s all a big surprise for the audience.”

If Davidson is reprising other characters she’s portrayed on the soap besides Kristen, it would mean that she could also be reprising the roles of Susan Banks or her three siblings, Thomas, Penelope and Sister Mary Moira, all of whom Davidson brought to the screen.

Though the hint that she may not be portraying Kristen could be deflating to fans—Kristen was presumed dead after being pushed through a window by Marlena (Deirdre Hall) in 2015, though a body was never produced—her reprisal of potentially Susan Banks could also be one that would be promising if it is the role she brings back. Though she was a minor member of the cast, Susan still had an important role as EJ DiMera’s (James Scott) mother, and she was last seen shortly before his own death, when he was shot in the Salem park by one of Clyde Weston’s (James Read) thugs. Since then, EJ’s love, Sami (Alison Sweeney) also left the show, though she has made small reprisals since.

The loss of Sami and EJ (EJami) was one fans felt for a while, and there has always been fervent hope the characters would both return to the show. Though he was killed on-screen and fans saw his body in the morgue, they also witnessed a scene where Kristen snuck in and injected his body with something. They also heard his father, Stefano, admit that the ashes Sami had were the remains of another person. Since then, that storyline has been dropped.

However, the news that Davidson is returning also coincides with two other big announcements that have been made about cast members who are returning to the show later this year. Sweeney initially announced she would be bringing Sami back again back in April, saying she would come back for an extended run. Similarly, it was announced in May that Chandler Massey would be reprising the role of Will Horton this fall as well, after the character was killed onscreen during Guy Wilson’s portrayal in 2015.

Though the show seems determined to let fans know that Davidson’s return isn’t for the role of Kristen, the fact that her portrayer, and two other characters that were deeply connected to EJ are coming back, could be a sign that the show is gearing up to make a big announcement regarding the character. Though it would seem unlikely that Scott wants to return to the role, a potential recast could be done instead, and the returns of the other characters, two others who were also killed, would be the best indicator that his return was being planned on as well.

It could also be possible that the producers behind the soap are potentially trying to bring back these characters, including EJ, because of rumors that the show could be on the chopping block at NBC. Back in January, it was rumored that the soap was going to be canceled after more than 50 years in order to accommodate Megyn Kelly’s new show on the network, though it was later proven to be untrue. However, there have been times where it has struggled in the ratings enough to cause worry, especially as the show continued to lose big characters sine EJ and Sami both exited.

Among the actors who departed in the last three years were Joseph Mascolo, who died earlier this year and marked the official end to Stefano DiMera’s storyline. In addition, Kristen was killed off, as were Daniel Jonas (Shawn Christian), Will, and Bo Brady (Peter Reckell). Jen Lilley, who portrayed Theresa Donovan and Kate Mansi, who portrayed Abigail Deveraux, also quit the show, leading to Theresa departing the show and Abigail being recast.

Read: Does Ali Sweeney’s Return To “Days Of Our Lives” Mean EJ Will Also Return?

2017 has already also seen the exit of Vivian Jovanni’s Ciara Brady and will soon see the departures of Vincent Irizarry’s Deimos Kiriakis and Arianne Zucker’s Nicole Walker.

There has been no comment from Davidson about the possibility that she might be bringing Kristen DiMera back to the canvas.

“Days of Our Lives” airs weekdays on NBC.