Marcus Coloma is bidding farewell to Port Charles after three years of portraying Prince Nikolas Cassadine on General Hospital — and it doesn’t sound like it was an easy exit.
According to Daytime Confidential, who first reported the news, the actor declined to film his final scenes after learning he’d been written out of the soap opera. The show further confirmed his departure to Soap Opera Digest.
“Marcus Coloma will no longer be playing the role of Nikolas Cassadine,” they said of the actor, who first joined in 2019. “His last airdate will be at the end of January.”
It’s still unclear if Coloma will be replaced with another actor or if General Hospital is scrapping the character altogether. Decider has reached out to ABC for comment.
Getting rid of the fan favorite would come as even more of a surprise, seeing as he’s been a staple character since the 1990s.
The role of Nikolas, who is the grandson of Helena Cassadine (portrayed by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1980s), was originally played by Tyler Christopher in 1996. He left in 1999 before returning to the show in 2003, where he remained until 2016. Nikolas has also been played by Coltin Scott from 1999 to 2003, Chris Beetem in 2005 and Nick Stabile in 2016.
Meanwhile, fans of the show are not happy that Coloma is leaving. Some even praised the actor for reportedly refusing to film his last scenes.
“From the moment @marcuscoloma took over the role of Nikolas Cassadine he made it his own and definitely did an extraordinary job bringing his character to life,” one fan wrote. “I for one am not happy at all that he will no longer be on the show!”
Another posted, “Very upset about this,” while a third said, “This is horrible he did a great job reinventing the character. Good for him if you are let go that’s your last day…bye bye.”
One more added, “No freaking way, OMG why what happened? I have no words I am very upset.”
General Hospital airs on weekdays at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
