Vampire Diaries Season 7: Stefan to turn hero of next season as Damon becomes big bad villain

The Vampire Diaries season 7 will premiere in a few months, but speculations are high that Damon Salvatore will turn into a ruthless vampire after losing the love of his life Elena Gilbert, in season 6.

In the previous season, Kai's spell wrecked havoc in Mystic Falls as Jo and her unborn twins were stabbed to death by the Gemini Coven witch, and Elena went into a coma.

Her deep slumber can only be reversed if Bonnie dies, which will not happen, as Nina Dobrev has already left the supernatural series.

The event will force the elder Salvatore vampire to become season one's big bad villain. "Actually… let us take Damon down a different road and have more fun with his character and [get back to] that season 1 Damon that everybody loved so much and that Ian Somerhalder himself loved so much," show creator Julie Plec told Entertainment Weekly.

Showrunner Caroline Dries has hinted that Stefan will take centre stage after his elder brother's character shift.

"I'm really excited to see Stefan come into his own and he'll really take to the role of a hero, which will be really cool," Dries told E Online. "He's always been a hero but I think in a broader sense he'll become more heroic next season."

Stefan, has been cautious about his mother Lily and her family of bloodthirsty vampires, whom Kai brought back from the prison world of 1903.

It is possible that the younger Salvatore brother will play an important role in controlling and eliminating unwanted vampires from the soil of Mystic Falls.

He may even play an important role in bringing back Damon from his emotional exile post his tragic separation from Elena.

Vampire Diaries season 7 will premiere in autumn this year.