There's a distinct possibility the next season of ABC's Castle will look very different compared to the show fans have grown to know and love.

The season 8 finale of Castle is rapidly approaching and the showrunners are preparing to go out with a bang. One of those showrunners, Alex Hawley, spoke with TVLine recently about what's ahead for the May finale:

"It's all hands on deck," Hawley said, with the big revelation of LokSat. It is a finale with "a lot of twists and turns, danger and emotional stakes," the showrunner continued. "We really tried to leave it all on the field."

But fans should probably expect at least some semblance of a proper ending for Stana Katic's Kate Beckett. While the news that Katic would not be returning for a potential season 9 of Castle was a shocker to many, the showrunners were apparently prepared for such a scenario.

Hawley said that season 8 ends "in a dynamic way that leaves open the possibility that maybe the show won't come back in the same form."

This isn't the first mention that Castle may be changed moving forward. Molly Quinn, who plays Alexis on the procedural, tweeted that things will be different as Katic leaves, though she assured fans that star Nathan Fillion (who plays Castle) is the show.

Of course, there's also the fact that Castle has yet to be officially renewed for a ninth season, making this whole discussion hypothetical for now. ABC chose not to announce a renewal back in March, when they announced renewals for shows like Once Upon a Time, Dancing With the Stars, Grey's Anatomy and many other long-running shows.

If ABC wishes to move forward with the show, Fillion expressed his desire to keep going on Twitter, so it's very possible at this point.

Castle airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Watch the promo for the next episode of Castle here:

Tags: Castle television ABC