Is Nikolas Cassadine Really Dead on ‘General Hospital’?
Nikolas Cassadine‘s fate seems sealed on General Hospital but is he really dead? It wouldn’t be the first time that death isn’t a permanent condition on the ABC soap opera.
Is Nikolas Cassadine Really Dead on General Hospital?
Spoilers confirm that Nikolas Cassadine (recast Adam Huss) is actually dead. Ava Jerome (Maura West) conked her raging husband in the head. But can you blame her?
Nikolas vowed to steal her daughter, Avery Corinthos (Ava & Grace Scarola) away from her. So, she snapped and whacked him out of anger, but not intending to kill him.
Ava has ended Nikolas. #gh pic.twitter.com/A45RjThtLT
— alexa (@alexaismyname2) February 9, 2023
On General Hospital, Dr. Austin Gatlin-Holt (Roger Howarth) recently confirmed that Nikolas is dead. So, that sure seems final, right? Maybe — or maybe not.
You’d think a doctor would know what dead looks like, but it is a soap opera. So, they can rarely take this storyline where they want to on GH. If they did bring him back, which actor would they use? Read on for a glimpse of who that could be.
Actor Issues on GH: Marcus Coloma & Tyler Christopher
Six actors played Nikolas Cassadine. You may recall Tyler Christopher originated the role in 1996 when Laura Spencer’s (Genie Francis) son came to Port Charles.
Stephen Martines took over on General Hospital from 1999-2003. Later, Chris Beetem and Nick Stabile were short-term recasts. The latter took over when Tyler Christopher was abruptly axed.
The actor told Michael Fairman in an interview last year that he blamed himself for losing his gig at GH. He discussed mental health and addiction issues as the cause and continues his recovery process.
Then, Marcus Coloma was cast as Nikolas in October 2019. Two years ago, Adam Huss stepped in when Coloma had COVID in 2021 and again when Coloma had recurring health issues.
Then, in late 2022, Coloma revealed he was leaving General Hospital. Why? They simply showed no interest in renewing his contract, he says. Huss finished out the last couple of weeks of filming.
Chatting with GH alum Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson on their podcast, Coloma said the ABC soap made no moves toward contract renewal.
He said, “there was no negotiation.” And he doesn’t know why the powers that be didn’t want to keep him. But, the now-departed Nikolas Cassadine actor said, “I didn’t feel like I got fired.” But he said it “hurt” him.
So, another simmering question is whether they’d resurrect Nikolas and bring back Tyler Christopher. While many viewers would like it, it could be a risk. With admitted addiction issues, it could be problematic for General Hospital.
When TV shows or movies hire actors with addiction concerns, they often must take out costlier insurance and draft morality clauses into contracts. So, that seems a less likely outcome.
Could Nikolas Return on General Hospital?
Last we saw Nikolas Cassadine, his body was shoved in a closet. But will it still be there when Ava goes back, presumably with Austin’s help, to dump the corpse?
Is Nikolas really dead on General Hospital? Remember, Hamilton Finn (Michael Easton) and Liz Webber (Rebecca Herbst) diagnosed Peter August (Wes Ramsey) as dead as a doornail.
But then he crawled out of the freezer where they’d stashed him. How did a doctor and nurse both mis-diagnose his death on the ABC soap?
It was kind of ridiculous. And it could totally happen again with Nikolas on GH. Even if he’s gone for good now and presumed dead, they could resurrect Nik later.
The easiest body dump is off a parapet at Wyndemere. And once the water takes him, the writers can introduce doubt that could eventually bring back the dark Cassadine prince.
So, even if General Hospital killed off Nikolas Cassadine this time, that doesn’t mean it’s a permanent thing on GH. But for now, it looks dire.
Get an early glimpse of next week’s General Hospital spoilers now!