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Surprise, Netflix's V Wars Trailer Reveals Nikki Reed And Ian Somerhalder's First Co-Starring Roles

Written by Joanne Louise

Vampire fans were well-fed with the debut of Netflix's V Wars trailer (you can watch it below). We already knew The Vampire Diaries alum Ian Somerhalder had a lead role as Dr. Luther Swann, and he's also a producer and directed one of the 10 episodes of V Wars Season 1. But surprise surprise, the official trailer revealed the actor's ex, Twilight alum Nikki Reed, also has a role in V Wars.

Nikki Reed is playing a character named Rachel, and even though that's all we know about her today, she's clearly very close to Ian Somerhalder's Dr. Swann -- and maybe she's his wife?

Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed were reigning king and queen of Vampire Nation when they got together in 2015 but now that they are in new relationships, with Ian married to his TVD co-star Nina Somerhalder who he shares two children with -a one year old daughter and a newborn son. Since Somerhalder was so heavily involved in making V Wars Season 1 from the start, you have to imagine Nina while pregnant with their son and their daughter were regulars on set. But how does Nina feel about Reed being cast on the show?

We sat down with the actor and asked him about Nina's reaction about Reed being casted in the show and he said, "She [Nina] after knowing that Nikki would be part of the cast she was supportive and was understanding and I know some fans —those who still support Nikki and I getting back together again— will make conspiracy theories about us getting back together just because we're in the same show but that won't happen, we're both in committed relationships and the fans should know that that just because Nikki and I will be on the same show doesn't mean a relationship will blossom from that"

V Wars could've promoted the exes on-screen pairing right after they finished filming, but The Powers That Be saved it as a surprise cameo appearance for the trailer debut before the December 5 premiere. I'm guessing Nikki Reed only has a very small role, but we'll see. Either way, how fun to get a quick glimpse of her in the otherwise dark and intense trailer.

V Wars marks another vampire show for Ian Somerhalder, right after The Vampire Diaries, but he plays a human this time. His Dr. Luther Swann is battling an outbreak that turns people like his best friend Michael Fayne (Adrian Holmes) into vampires.

Ian Somerhalder recently told Schön! magazine (via JustJared) that he wasn't sure about doing V Wars at first, but Nina encouraged him to say yes.

"I said no like three different times. It just didn't seem like the right move to dial into another vampire show...Once I dove into the books and the comics, I realized the level of I.T. and science in the story. V Wars isn't about supernaturals, it's more about science and society, about relationships and love. It deals with the stuff that we're all dealing with now: borders, racism, medicine, food, security."

Ian Somerhalder has been open about how different V Wars is from The Vampire Diaries, and how Dr. Luther Swann is a very different man than snarky Damon Salvatore. That was a major part of the appeal of taking this role:

"I wanted to be a normal good man. He's a dad, a husband, and has a true love of science and medicine...Swann's superpower is simply that he's a good dad and loves helping the world through science. Things turn in his world very quickly, but he will always remain that core strength. But we'll see the evolution of this man and what he means to the world."

V Wars star Adrian Holmes recently talked to CinemaBlend about Ian Somerhalder's impressive balance of directing and acting on the show. They had a lot of fun making it, even with some injuries and stress along the way. V Wars Season 1 will release all 10 episodes on December 5.