Stop Fretting, You Guys — James Franco Is Returning to General Hospital

James Franco — seen above hanging out with Nic Cage in a bear suit possibly(?) — will be returning to General Hospital in September.  Franco played a performance artist and serial killer called “Franco” on the soap opera — which may be soon seen exclusively on the web — for two months in 2009 then again this February.  He explained to the Wall Street Journal that it was performance art, which is a fancy way of saying trolled IRL.

Franco’s upcoming story arc is being called “longterm,” meaning we’ll see him well into the fall and possibly beyond. This should be a nifty trick considering GH is filmed in Hollywood and the actor is due to open on Broadway this fall opposite Nicole Kidman in a revival of Tennessee Williams’ Sweet Bird of Youth — but don’t forget he’s known for shooting weeks and weeks worth of GH material in just a couple of days. [TVGuide]

If it’s anything like last time, he’ll probably have about 30 seconds of screentime in each episode, very slowly continuing the storyline where he has a crush on a buff Mafia hitman, because the mob is in the hospital business now. (Sure, why not?)  The hitman is already set to wed one of the women on the show, a ceremony which “Franco” plans to interrupt. Reference The Graduate or GTFO!

Reporting all of this is really just our excuse to post a video of James Franco petting the monkey:

 


Well, what did you think we meant?

 

[Video via WarmingGlow]