Speculations about Nina Dobrev's possible return for the 8^th season of "The Vampire Diaries" are still rife after her voice was heard crying out for help in the season 7 finale.

The much-awaited return of Elena Gilbert in Mystic Falls after Dobrev left the show at the end of season 6 finally happened in the last episode of season 7. Though fans were not able to see Elena's physical form in the episode, they heard her voice loud and clear as she sent a message to Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder).

This made the fans believe that the actress will join her former "TVD" cast for season 8. But if she will really return in the upcoming season, this means that it will be the last installment of "The Vampire Diaries."

According to executive producer Julie Plec, she and Dobrev both agreed to bring Elena back into the story towards the very end of the series.

"It's what she and I kind of agreed on when she decided to move on, and it's what I've got in my head," Plec said in an interview with TVLine. "Obviously things can change throughout time, if the show goes on longer than we expect it to, or if we all collectively decide it would be fun to bring her back earlier, and she wanted to. But in my opinion, she was very clear about what she wanted the next step in her life to be, and she's doing a great job of achieving that. So I'm sticking with my side of the plan, which is to bring her back at the very end."

Since The CW has yet to confirm if they will cancel the show after season 8, it means that Dobrev's return for the upcoming season is still not guaranteed.

"The Vampire Diaries" season 8 is scheduled to premiere on Oct. 21.