Legacies may have just started shooting its premiere season this week, but they had a little something to share with all the loyal, enthusiastic fans at SDCC!

For those that are asking themselves, “Legacies? What?” you’ll definitely want to check out this handy guide to all the things we know about Legacies so far.

We were lucky enough to be present for the first ever Legacies fan panel at SDCC, and they didn’t show up empty handed. Julie Plec and company brought a fun first look at exactly what this series looks to bring to the TVD universe we all know and love so much.

Highlights from the reel include a Hope meeting with Elijah Mikaelson at the Mystic Grill, a look at Josie and Lizzie as teenagers, and all the homages to The Vampire Diaries, including the decade dance, the “I think she’s a witch” diary entry, and the iconic Mystic Falls clock tower!

The fun didn’t stop there. Showrunners Julie Plec and Brett Matthews, along with stars Matt Davis and Danielle Rose Russell, shared tons of information about Legacies, and even added some tidbits about The Originals, The Vampire Diaries, and…Legally Blonde 3 (Matt Davis thinks that Warner should appear as a sad, kept man whose wife is facing off against Elle professionally).

Here’s everything we learned from the Legacies appearance at SDCC!

‘Legacies’

We learned a lot about what the new series has in store. Here are some of the most exciting things that were discussed at SDCC.

• Just hours before the panel, Legacies cast Peyton Alex Smith as Raphael, who is “a hot werewolf with anger issues.” Really, is there any other kind?
• Alaric’s assistant, Dorian, will be coming back to help him out in Legacies.
• We will see a lot of Alaric fathering Josie and Lizzie, but he will also act as a father figure to Hope while she’s at school. Don’t fret though, Brett Matthews assured us that we’ll get to see him have adult relationships and friendships as well. Perhaps another bromance?
• Matt Davis “hopes” that Alaric will have some more luck in his love life in the new series.
• The showrunners are keeping an open door policy when it comes to old characters from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals returning.
• In fact, they confirmed that Sheriff Matt Donovan will appear in the first episode of Legacies!
• There’s also good news for fans of Caroline Forbes (so…everyone). Plec said, “We will hear her name a lot, and, if I get my way, we’ll see her face as often as we can.”
• Legacies will “liberally” pay homage to both Harry Potter and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as these are two of Julie Plec’s favorite worlds.
• There will be a rivalry between the Salvatore Boarding School and Mystic Falls High School. Apparently, Hope and her classmates are seen as the “troubled rich kids,” since nobody knows what the school is really for.
• Hope will have a rivalry of her own with the Saltzman sisters. “The Saltzman girls really don’t like her that much and she kind of feels the same way,” Plec stated.
• Plec described Lizzie Saltzman as Caroline Forbes at 17, and Josie Saltzman as Caroline Forbes now.
• Paul Wesley will direct an episode in the first season.
• According to Plec, “friendship” and “a coming-of-age story” will be at the core of Legacies.
• The inter-species fighting is just as strong at the Salvatore Boarding School as it is in New Orleans. “High schools are divisive. I would take that dynamic from The Originals and say they’re 16 and emotionally unstable,” Matthews said. I’m not sure anyone would describe Klaus Mikaelson as emotionally stable, but he’s got a point!
• There will be some completely new types of supernatural beings in the series. Matt Davis divulged that there will be “an element where the school is always defending against some supernatural creature which threatens the town.” So, it looks like these new supernatural beings will largely be the villains, at least in the beginning.
• You don’t need to have watched The Vampire Diaries and The Originals to enjoy the new show. “If you’ve watched both shows there’s a lot of history that’s infused within the new show, but if you haven’t, it’s a complete show of its own. Very different, very fresh, and very fun,” Russell said of the new series.
• The cast and creatives described the show as “snarkier” than its predecessors. Apparently there are a lot more jokes to look forward to!

‘The Originals’

The spotlight was on Legacies, but Julie Plec also gave away some clues about the last two episodes of The Originals. She said the following about what we should be prepared for, in the finale:

There’s going to be a lot that’s sad, for sure. There’s going to be a lot that’s beautiful, beautiful and sad and actually beautiful and happy. There’s going to be some really wonderful happy endings and there’s going to be some really beautiful, if not tragic, endings. I think that’s the point when you look at this family who’ve been together for 1000 years in this cycle of co-dependency and dysfunction and abuse and have found their way back to each other, time and again. We’ll be able to bring that family journey to its completion and to understand exactly what’s going to happen to each of them.

We also learned that Alaric will be in the next episode of The Originals, which is the penultimate episode. We will return to the Salvatore Boarding School, where we’ll meet Landon and the 13 year old, sassier Josie and Lizzie. Klaus will go to the school because he needs a favor.

Plec added that she’s “really proud” of the finale, but that she’s “definitely not going to get on Twitter when it’s over.” Uh oh!

‘The Vampire Diaries’

Sure, The Vampire Diaries is over, but Julie Plec shared some fun tidbits about the characters from the show. Here’s what we learned:

• We will see a storefront in Mystic Falls for Elena’s family medical practice, but we likely won’t see Damon and Elena’s children in the series.
• Damon and Elena are still together.
• Bonnie is being fierce all over the world.
• Stefan’s still dead. #RIP

We are sure to get more and more glimpses of what Legacies has up its sleeves as October creeps closer and closer. We will certainly be counting down the days.

‘Legacies’ debuts Thursday, October 25, 2018 on the CW.