‘The Vampire Diaries’ season 5: New Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Paul Wesley photos!

“The Vampire Diaries” may at times go creepy for some of their promotional photos, but when it comes to some of their individual shots they year, the best way that we can describe them is “simple”.

Instead of trying to create something that was incredibly elaborate (or showcase another image that shows Elena bizarrely out of character), The CW released some shots today of all of their series regulars, looking by and large like they would for any everyday function. The background is plain, and the focus is almost entirely on the characters themselves.

So is this good news for the marketing department or not? If you are going to go so far out of left field with the group photo, we’d personally prefer almost that you just not release any solo images at all if they are going to look like this. We know that fans are going to go nuts over Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev, but there is nothing exciting about these at all. There’s no risky fashion choice (except for maybe Caroline, who at least stands out), the background is dull, and we learn almost absolutely nothing about the story. We are also somewhat surprised by the lack of a makeover that we see for these characters, considering that there has been several months that will have passed in between the start of season 5 and the end of season 4.

The silver lining? There is at least a Tyler Lockwood sighting to look forward to. The man is not back right away this season, but he will be in due time.

For more on “The Vampire Diaries” season 5 courtesy of Nina Dobrev, just be sure to visit the link here. The show returns to The CW with all-new episodes starting on Thursday, October 3 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Photo: The CW