'The Originals' season 4 spoilers: Pushed back release date results in additional years in time jump

(Facebook/cworiginals)"The Originals" season 4 will premiere in early 2017.

The delay in release for The CW's "The Originals" may be disheartening news to some, but there is a silver lining to this dark cloud. The prolonged waiting time will allow viewers to settle in to the time jump that will be happening in the new season, giving writers space to add to the years that have passed.

In an interview with TVLine, executive producer Julie Plec pointed out the advantage of the delayed premiere date of the show's fourth season. "When they shifted the air date, it actually gave us the freedom, weirdly, to shift the timeline in our favor so that we could have more time pass in 'The Originals' between seasons than 'The Vampire Diaries,'" explained Plec.

"So we get to add an extra couple years on to our time lapse between seasons. It's actually a good thing. It's positive to not have to worry about being side by side," she continued.

It certainly looks like the time jump will play a huge role in the story of the upcoming season. Lengthening the time that has passed between seasons can only mean that more things will happen to the characters. At this point, however, nothing about the plot is certain.

"The Originals" is already gearing up for its fourth season, with production having already commenced. It has been revealed that the cast and crew are back on set for the filming of the new season.

The news comes from Anthony Kountz, the first assistant director on "The Originals." Kountz shared photos and details via his Twitter handle, and they only serve to excite fans worldwide. One post even teased the Scottish Highlands as a setting, but Kountz did not give away much information following that. 

In other news, Christina Moses — who is best known for her stint on "Containment," another series that Plec runs — will be joining the season 4 cast of The CW series. Moses will be playing a character named Keelin, a bisexual werewolf who crosses paths with the Mikaelsons.

"The Originals" season 4 will premiere in early 2017.

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