After over three decades of work on General Hospital, fans speculated about Maurice Benard's Sonny leaving the series in 2024.
While General Hospital began in 1962, Benard boasts more appearances than anybody in show history, with over 3,500 episodes of work. He was introduced to fans in 1993 as Sonny Corinthos, the show's manic-depressive mob kingpin with a significant influence in Port Charles.
Originally only booked for half a season, Sonny was a fairly regular character through the 1990s until taking on a more full-time role after 2000.
Sonny's Rumored General Hospital 2024 Exit
Fans wonder if Maurice Benard's Sonny Corinthos is exiting General Hospital in 2024.
Recent episodes have seen Sonny in trouble for shooting and murdering Detective Jagger Cates. While this is not entirely out of character due to his place as a high-ranking mob boss, this particular murder seemed mostly unprompted.
Sometime after that killing, Sonny decides to turn himself in to the feds, confess to the murder, and give the authorities everything they asked of him. In exchange, he insists that nobody else pay for Cates' death other than him after Diane made a deal for him.
Viewers were shocked to see this turn of events, as many were unable to recall seeing Sonny kill anybody on camera the way he did with Cates. The running theory is that he will be either on his way to prison for a long time or sent down another kind of redemption path.
Should that happen, it might mean fans would see Benard exit the show for the foreseeable future, potentially for good. This comes amidst rumors that co-star Laura Wright hinted that Benard might quit General Hospital, although nothing officially backs that up.
Also causing some concern among fans is a post from Benard on X (formerly Twitter) from early September, in which he shared an event from a comedy club he was attending in Bellmore, New York. In his caption, he said, "this may be my last one for a while," which made fans question if there was a deeper meaning:
"this may be my last one for a while. I’m not trying to get you to go. I’m just telling you the truth. Let’s have some fun."
Is Sonny Leaving General Hospital?
There is no official confirmation or news concerning Maurice Benard's exit from General Hospital as Sonny.
While unconfirmed, Benard said in a recent Instagram Live video that he would not retire for another two years. Should this be true, he would remain on General Hospital until at least 2026 before putting his character to rest.
Holding a place as the longest-tenured actor on General Hospital to date, Benard has undoubtedly earned the decision to make his exit whenever he chooses. After 31 years on the series, it would not be surprising to see the 61-year-old star wind down his soap opera work, having led the show for about half of its on-air tenure.
Sonny may be left out of a handful of episodes whenever this murder storyline concludes, potentially leaving him in jail. Unfortunately, all fans can do is wait to see the final verdict.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC at 2 p.m. ET.
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