General Hospital (GH) spoilers tease that Michael Easton will soon grace the TV screens once again. According to Soap Opera Digest, Michael Easton began taping on Friday, February 26, with an initial airdate planned for Friday, March 18. Michael Easton revealed that the new role was a beginning and fresh start for his acting career, and feels very inspired by the new material he was given.

Not many soap opera stars are as loved by the fans as Michael Easton. When he was fired by the former head scribe, Ron Carlivati, and was written out of the storyline, the audience came unglued. They didn’t want to say goodbye to Dr. Silas Clay (Michael Easton) and demanded ABC do something about it and rehire the actor.

Easton taped his first scenes yesterday. Very exciting stuff. #GH — Frank Valentini (@valentinifrank) February 27, 2016

Michael Easton revealed in an interview with ABC Soaps In Depth that he was disappointed when he learned he would no longer be on General Hospital. Easton felt his character deserved a better exit than to be murdered by Madeline Reeves (Donna Mills) in a ploy to take control of Nina Clay’s (Michelle Stafford) assets. Easton also felt his character hadn’t run its course, and there was no reason to kill him off in that manner. Even so, Carlivati murdered Dr. Silas and Port Charles (and General Hospital fans) was left reeling after his shocking murder.

Right after his exit from the General Hospital, his fans launched an online petition calling for the ABC executives to consider bringing Michael back on the soap opera. The petition fetched an astonishing 14,000 signatures–which was enough to grab the attention of the powers that be at ABC. The creator of the petition, Laura Gentili, stated that the audience wanted Michael Easton back on the soap opera as Dr. Silas Clay. Dr. Clay was an oncologist that was a major character, and his loss was hard for the fans to accept.

Wishing #MichaelEaston a very Happy Birthday today! And a reminder #GH is all new on this holiday Monday! pic.twitter.com/4kzZw7KEGd — Nathan Varni (@nathanvarni) February 15, 2016

Right before February Sweeps began, ABC executive Nathan Varni revealed that Michael Easton would return in the coming months; however, he would not reprise the role of Dr. Clay. Varni explained that Silas Clay was dead–stabbed and murdered–and there was no feasible way to bring him back. (Come on, GH writers, when has a soap opera let a silly thing like death stop them from bringing a character back?)

Frank Valentini, executive producer of General Hospital, stated that Easton would return to the soap opera, but there was a catch. Apparently, they couldn’t bring him back as Dr. Silas Clay, so they’d create a brand new character. It was enough to appease his fans as they anticipated his return to the show.

Here's a #GHFanFeb surprise! Michael Easton is coming back to #GH! A video posted by General Hospital (@generalhospitalabc) on Feb 2, 2016 at 11:15am PST

Michael posted to his Facebook account revealing that his first day of filming was February, 26 with an air date of March 18. Easton captioned the image of the new script, “And so it begins..”

General Hospital has not released much about his character, only that it will be a new character and that Michael is inspired by the complexity of the character. There have been rumors the past couple weeks that he could be a “nice” Cassadine (do they exist?) and could show up just in time for Helena’s will reading. That appears to be false at the moment, considering that Helena’s will should be read later this week.

General Hospital fans, are you excited about Michael Easton’s return to the ABC soap opera? Who do you think Easton will portray? Don’t forget to come back later to The Inquistr for more General Hospital spoilers, news, and updates. Let us know what you think about Michael Easton return in the comments, below.

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