Could multiple-Emmy winner Chandler Massey (ex-Will Horton) be returning to Days of our Lives? The answer is either yes or no -- and then there are a whole bunch of other questions that need to be answered.
Rumors of Massey's return to the role he held on Days of our Lives from 2010 to 2014 surfaced earlier in the month after a photo from the DAYS set appeared to show Freddie Smith (ex-Sonny Kiriakis) in the background. Fans then wondered if the show might be bringing its wildly popular couple of Will and Sonny -- affectionately know as "WilSon" -- back into the fold.
Publicist Jeff Ballard fanned the flames by posting a cryptic message on Twitter about the rumored return.
"I've been getting quite a few calls about this -- so for the record -- I can neither confirm nor deny that my former client and good friend, three-time Daytime Emmy winning actor Chandler Massey will be returning to his role of Will Horton on Days of our Lives later this year. I guess you will all have to keep watching!!"
After winning his second consecutive Daytime Emmy in the Outstanding Younger Actor field in 2013, Massey stunned the pressroom by announcing that he was not planning to renew his contract with DAYS.
"It's been such a pleasure and a privilege working on DAYS," Massey said as he reflected on the three years he spent on the NBC soap. "It has changed my life for the better. I came out to Los Angeles and enrolled in UCLA, and I think that after [my current contract] is up [in December], I want to go back to school. I want to graduate. I want to have a degree. I just want to keep looking forward."
Rather than wait until Massey's contract ended, Days of our Lives opted to recast the role early. Insiders whispered that the hurried recast was punishment for Massey making his press room declaration. DAYS co-executive producer Greg Meng denied the claims, saying that there was "[n]o ugliness, no weirdness" involved in the recasting process.
Guy Wilson assumed the role in January 2014 and remained with the show through October 2015, when Will fell victim to the Necktie Killer.
So how could Massey assume the role of an already-dead character? It wouldn't be the first time that a DAYS character defied death. But what about the vow that executive producer Ken Corday made stating that any character killed after September 2015 would stay dead?
There is, at least for now, plenty of time to wade through the speculation. Even if Massey has already secretly returned to work, those taped scenes still wouldn't appear until late summer.