Fans have been bracing themselves for the upcoming exit of General Hospital's Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer), who announced his retirement from the show earlier this month. The powers that be at the ABC soap have been preparing, as well. While it isn't known what the series has planned for Geary's grand exit, the network has confirmed that a handful of popular characters from Luke's past will be making return appearances to help usher Luke off the canvas.
Jonathan Jackson, who played Luke and Laura's beloved son, Lucky, and Nathan Parsons, who played Luke's son Ethan, are both confirmed to be returning for what Entertainment Weekly calls "a short [story] arc."
Jackson originated the role of Lucky in 1993. He left the show in 1999, but returned in 2009. He left again in 2011 and went on to snag a role as Avery Barkley in ABC's primetime soap Nashville.
Parsons joined General Hospital in 2009 and departed in 2013. He appears in the CW series The Originals.
Both Nashville and The Originals have been renewed for the 2015-2016 television season.
It was previously announced that Genie Francis (Laura Spencer) will be returning as Laura Spencer for Geary's final story arc. She makes her first appearance on June 5. Another of Luke's former on-screen loves, Emma Samms (Holly Sutton), will also be headed back to Port Charles.
GH head writer Ron Carlivati teased to Soap Opera Digest that he hopes to incorporate adventure into the story as a way to honor Luke's past -- which has had more adventure than most soap opera characters combined. So hold on to your hats, GH fans, because Geary's exit is sure to be an emotional and wild ride.
How would you prefer to see Luke exit the canvas? Are there any other characters you think should return for Geary's final scenes? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
