Easton, Howarth, and Alderson Back to GH...As Different Characters!

The legal mess between Prospect Park and ABC continues and it's creating a lot of drama. According to TV Guide.com Michael Easton, Roger Howarth, and Kristen Alderson will be returning to General Hospital as planned, however they will most likely be playing entirely different characters. While I have been hoping these three actors would return to GH, I can't say I'm happy about the prospect of them playing new characters. In my opinion this is worse than if the actors had simply left the show. I really can't foresee any creative solution to this problem, especially in the case of Michael Easton, who has already played dual roles on GH, one of which was a vampire. Yes, soap viewers routinely suspend the reality of disbelief, but since Starr, Todd, and John have become such significant characters on GH I don't see how they can possibly come back as different characters anytime soon. I might be able to get on board with one actor returning in this capacity, but three? I'm not sure how that would work out to anyone's advantage, least of all the viewers.