General Hospital Scoop on the Sonny-Brenda Wedding and the Return of James Franco

Will it finally happen this time? General Hospital heroine Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo) — whose past wedding days have all been disasters — is scheduled to marry crime lord Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) on February 18. Right now things don't look so good for the duo. Sonny is being haunted by prophetic dreams that something will go heinously wrong at the ceremony. His venomous ex-wife Carly (Laura Wright) plans to ruin the big day by revealing that Brenda has a secret past — and a child — with Sonny's son Dante (Dominic Zamprogna). And supervillain The Balkan (Daniel Benzali) also intends to be a party pooper — he's all set to kidnap the bride. Despite all this, head writer Bob Guza assures us that vows will be exchanged. But that doesn't mean those looming threats won't get carried out.
"Carly has the ammunition and the wherewithal to blow Brenda out of the water and she will use it. She will blow the secret, but not in the way you expect her to. And the Balkan is also going to make his move to grab Brenda," says the Emmy-winning Guza, who promises the wedding and its aftermath — airing over six days — will be epic. "Something very, very big is going to occur that will turn our canvas upside down. What you think will happen is not what you get."
Guza will also throw in the return of James Franco as serial killer Robert "Franco" Frank. "You'll know his character is somehow associated with what happens at the wedding, but just how he's connected won't be immediately revealed," Guza says. 
The obsessively overbooked Franco — actor, author, artist, filmmaker, college student — will co-host the Oscars February 27, where he's also a Best Actor nominee for 127 Hours. His two-day GH stint will air February 25 and 28, bookending his Oscar duties. "We'll have a lot of fun with James' image and his hosting of the Oscars — it's going to be a hoot!" says Guza. These episodes will once again find "Franco" taunting his mafia man-crush Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). He'll also drop clues about his next GH appearance that'll happen later this year, schedule permitting. ABC had previously announced that the actor would return for a longer arc this spring or summer but his crazy film schedule, and now his decision to join Nicole Kidman in the Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' Sweet Bird of Youth, may delay that.
But don't think Franco is losing interest in GH. Says Guza: "I sent James a text the morning he got the Oscar nomination to congratulate him and he texted back instantly. He said, 'Thanks. But what's happening with my GH storyline? We gotta start talking. We gotta do some stuff! I've got some paintings I want to use on the show!' I texted back, 'James, you just got nominated for an Academy Award. Enjoy it!' I think he's going to be on our show off and on forever, and God bless him for that."
Subscribe to TV Guide Magazine now!