"The Vampire Diaries" star Ian Somerhalder teased that the drama series will be "very different" when it returns to The CW this fall since Nina Dobrev's Elena Gilbert is no longer a part of the show.

During the Season 6 finale, fans said goodbye to Dobrev's character, Elena, who was put under a spell that will keep her in a coma-like state as long as Bonnie is alive. As a result, she will likely remain locked in a coffin for the next 60 to 70 years.

Elena's absence is bound to have a devastating effect on her longtime lover, Damon Salvadore, who is played by Somerhalder. However, the actor revealed that there will still be a lot to look forward to in Season 7.

During an exclusive interview with melty, the 36-year-old actor opened up about the finale and how Mystic Falls will change.

"The way it was done was great," he said, referring to the finale. "The way it was done was actually incredible, because it allows people to know that she's still there...she's not dead," he said. "In seventy years or however long Bonnie lives, Elena will resurface at some point, although we'll be very old when that happens."

He added, "We're actually very excited about telling this story. Mystic Falls without Elena Gilbert is going to be very different. We want to go back to that Season 1 and Season 2 of storytelling... I think that the last scene in the last episode that you see is truly a depiction of what this next season's going to be."

According to TVLine, there is also a possibility that viewers will meet an undercover lesbian vampire couple next season. The vampires, Nora and Mary Louise, are in their mid-20s and have kept their relationship a secret for over a century. Mary Louise appears to be the lovey-dovey type who constantly dotes on her girlfriend, which can make Nora feel a bit smothered. Nonetheless, the women are lethal and nothing to play with.