In the summer of 1991, it was reported that Northrop and Deidre Hall were in talks to return to the series and reprise their respective roles as Roman and Marlena, leaving many to wonder what would become of Hogestyn's Roman. It was later revealed that Hogestyn's Roman was actually John Black all along, and Northrop was the "real" Roman. Hogestyn attributed the plot twist to the "producers' own brilliance" despite him suggesting the storyline a year earlier. He also appreciated the decision from a business perspective. When asked about the possibility of being Roman again if/when Northrop inevitably vacated the role—as the return was expected to be short term—Hogestyn said "I think I'd like to stay John Black because I've already been Roman and I wasn't him." Supervising executive producer Al Rabin said "This is a story that we've wanted to tell for a long time." Rabin promised that the plot would not affect Hogestyn's future with "Days" who at the time was locked into a four-year contract. The producer also shot down speculation that the story would take a page from the prime time soap "Dallas" in which Patrick Duffy's Bobby Ewing was killed off in season 8 and revealed to be alive in season 10 discounting all of season 9 as a dream. To avoid confusion during production, the two men were referenced in the script by number—Hogestyn being Roman II (John). Over the course of six months, the story explores all avenues most significantly, the effects on Roman and Marlena's twins Eric and Samantha who had been raised by Roman II for most of their lives. In 2002 Hogestyn commented on the retcon: "This is daytime television, and you never know where the story is going to take you."