“Castle” may be saying goodbye to Detective Beckett, but it won’t be losing its main star, Rick Castle. Even though ABC still hasn’t announced whether the series will be back for Season 9, Nathan Fillion has reportedly signed a deal allowing him to return as Castle in the event the show is picked up.

Details surrounding Fillion’s new contract haven’t been revealed, but Deadline reports that the network has until the end of Friday to decide whether the crime drama will be canceled or renewed. Citing an observer, Deadline reports that there’s a good chance fans will get to see more of Castle solving crimes because it wouldn’t make sense for ABC to “go through all that trouble and not pick up the show.”

According to TVLine, if “Castle” is brought back for a Season 9, it’s likely that it will be an “abbreviated” season.

It was announced last month that Fillion’s co-star Stana Katic would not be reprising her role as Beckett. Tamala Jones is also leaving the series. It’s believed that both actresses were axed due to budget reasons, but a source told Us Weekly that Katic’s exit followed on-set tension between her and Fillion.

“Stana Katic and Nathan Fillion completely despise each other,” the source said. “They will not speak when they are off-set, and this has been going on for seasons now. This season, it got so out of hand they made Stana and Nathan go to couples counseling together.”

A rep for Katic, however, denied the claims saying the rumors were false and had nothing to do with Katic leaving her role on the long-running show. Fillion never addressed the reports, but he did post a lengthy Twitter message saying goodbye to his co-star. “Stana has been my partner all this time, and I thank her for creating the character of Beckett who will live on for all of us as one of the greatest police officers on television. I wish her well, and have no doubt she will succeed in everything she pursues. She will be missed.”

The Season 8 finale of “Castle” airs May 16 and teases that Beckett could be facing a grim ending. In a synopsis for the episode, Beckett and Castle’s lives are in danger after they go on a mission to catch LockStat.

“Castle” airs Mondays at 10 p.m. EDT on ABC.

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