Steve Burton's General Hospital Return Is Coming Sooner Than We Thought

Between verbal thrashings, heated confrontations, and flying bullets, "General Hospital" has attained yet another level of excitement. And that's just on the January 31 episode! Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) took Ava Jerome (Maura West) and their daughter to his private island in Puerto Rico because of an unknown threat, but they found themselves ducking for cover as a hail of bullets rained on his house. Lois Cerullo (Rena Sofer) and Olivia Falconeri (Lisa LoCicero) laid into Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) after she blamed them for ruining her life. And Esme Prince (Avery Pohl) caught up to Spencer Cassadine (Nicholas Chavez) and Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) in Paris and attacked them, after which she and Spencer ended up tumbling off of a boat.

The stakes are high across the board and the much-anticipated return of Jason Morgan couldn't come any faster. Fans collectively jumped for joy when it was reported last month that Steve Burton is returning to the role, and he opened up about when that will actually happen on the January 31 episode of his podcast, "Daily Drama."

"I don't have an exact start date, but I start next week on the show," he stated to the exuberant surprise of his co-host Bradford Anderson, who plays Jason's bestie, Damian Spinelli. As they theorized how Jason would be introduced, Burton joked, "Listen, we're just gonna roll in on the motorcycle and you're gonna be in the side car."

On the Instagram page for the "Daily Drama" podcast, Bradford Anderson posted some photos on January 31 of him in the halls of the "General Hospital" studio standing in front of a newly hung picture of Steve Burton. "Was excited to see Steve's picture back up in the hallway of GH," he wrote, and fans were thrilled at the prospect of their on-screen reunion.

When Sonny and Ava were shot at in Puerto Rico, it was revealed that the perpetrator knew the optimal place and time of day to shoot from and vanished without a trace, leading Sonny to suspect that they were familiar with his island and security protocols. It's well within the realm of possibility, given Jason's history of being captured by villains, that he could have been brainwashed and is the culprit not only there, but also in Port Charles where Sonny and Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) were shot at last year.

Alternatively, Soap Opera Digest revealed that former co-head writers Chris Van Etten and Dan O'Connor teased that "A little while into the new year, Elizabeth [Webber, Rebecca Herbst] will be stunned when a presence from her past ends up on her doorstep needing her assistance." Jason and Elizabeth had brief romantic encounters occasionally, so it's possible his return could rekindle the sparks between them and give her storyline some much-needed pep. We're on the edge of our seats awaiting Jason's return!