The past couple of weeks, fans have watched Salem residents, especially Sami (Alison Sweeney) and Lucas (Bryan Dattilo), talk about EJ Dimera on Days of our Lives a lot.
EJ has been off-canvas since 2014 when fan-favorite James Scott chose to exit the role. The character was presumed dead after being shot and dying in Sami’s arms.
Thanks to Kristen, then played by Eileen Davidson, injecting EJ with a substance he was brought him back to life. It was the serum Dr. Rolf (William Utay) uses to make dead people not so dead.
In 2018 Kristen, now played by Stacy Haiduk, returned to town claiming EJ was alive. Brady (Eric Martsolf) discovered a man being held captive by Kristen and Xander (Paul Telfer), but before he could tell anyone, the place exploded.
The mystery man was severely burned and brought back to Salem. After putting all the pieces together, Sami did a DNA test to confirm the man was EJ. Sami chose to take EJ out of town to seek treatment for his injuries.
EJ recast rumors swirl
Not long after Sami returned to Salem in 2021 to help her daughter Alli (Lindsay Arnold), rumors began swirling that EJ would soon follow his wife.
James has made it perfectly clear he is done with Hollywood and has no intentions of returning to the show. So, the only possible way to bring EJ back into the mix is to recast the character.
Thaao Penghlis (Tony) was first to report a new EJ was coming during his appearance on the podcast Mission: Impodible — A Mission: Impossible TV Podcast. No, Thaao didn’t spill any details. The actor merely expressed his excitement over Tony seeing his brother EJ again.
Days head writer confirms EJ recast
Head writer Ron Carlivati spoke to Soap Opera Digest about the struggle to have Sami on the canvas without addressing her marriage to EJ. Ron, that’s how the idea of Sami and Lucas having an affair came to light.
To tell a satisfying story, Ron knew EJ would need to be part of the story. Otherwise, fans would feel cheated and unsatisfied.
“You want EJ to ultimately show up and wonder if this secret of Lucas and Sami is going to come out. So that is how we went about saying, ‘We have to tear off this Band-Aid and find ourselves an EJ,'” Ron shared with the magazine.
Days has gone, and done just that, found a new EJ. Actor Dan Feuerriegel has been cast as EJ DiMera and will make his first appearance on the hit NBC soap opera on Wednesday, June 9.
Oh, how Sami and Lucas will squirm wants EJ hits Salem. The summer is certainly going to be hot one on the NBC daytime drama.
What do you think of EJ being recast?
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on NBC.