Law & Order: Special Victims Unit season 27 has many long-time fans excited for the new season with so many classic characters set to return. The series has seen quite a few cast members come and go after nearly 30 years on the air, but many former series regulars do return as guest stars.

That is set to happen in season 27 as well. Pictures from the set have confirmed the return of several actors who have already left the show. NBC has also confirmed the appearance of others who have not yet been spotted by fans trying to catch a glimpse of filming in New York.

While these returns are exciting, they also leave fans a little apprehensive as theories mount that Law & Order: SVU season 27 might have a sad reason to unite these characters again.

Three SVU 1.0 Characters Are Confirmed To Appear

The Classic SVU Characters Join Recently Departed Actors

Heading into SVU season 27, news revealed that Octavio Pisano, who stars as Detective Velasco, will return for at least the season premiere after news that he was leaving originally dropped in season 26. Though Pisano has starred as a member of SVU since 2021, he is not the only familiar face making an unexpected return.

The confirmed returns for SVU season 27 so far include the classic characters of Brian Cassidy (Dean Winters), George Huang (B.D. Wong), and Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni). Both Stabler and Cassidy debuted in season 1 of SVU, while Huang made his first appearance in season 2.

The three characters make up some of the regulars present in what has been dubbed “SVU 1.0” by longtime fans. That references the first chapter of the series, through season 12, in which Stabler and Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) were the main detectives of the series.

All three actors, however, have returned to guest star since leaving SVU. Cassidy briefly dated Olivia, Huang has been a psychological consultant for various lawyers, and Stabler has steadily guest starred since season 21 (or the SVU 3.0 era), since Meloni leads the Law & Order: Organized Crime spinoff series.

One theory posits that these three characters are returning to SVU to say goodbye.

SVU Is Saying Goodbye To Cragen

The Returns Are Theorized To Be For An SVU Funeral

The returns of Cassidy, Huang, and Stabler have been theorized by fans to be a result of a funeral for one long-standing cast member of the Law & Order franchise.

Captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek) originated on the first Law & Order series and was the commanding officer for SVU when the series began. Cragen was a steadying force when detectives stepped over the line. He turned the reins over to Benson when he retired.

Florek has returned to the series as a guest star, even appearing in the Organized Crime spinoff series as a sounding board for Stabler on occasion. Though Florek has appeared in four episodes of Organized Crime since 2022, he has not appeared on SVU since 2021.

Images of Florek on the SVU set were shared with fans by Meloni on his Instagram.

While Meloni and Hargitay were in costume and filming, Florek was in more casual attire. That has led to plenty of fan speculation that Florek’s Cragen is being killed off, allowing for a reunion of those cast members who worked with him in the past.

Adding to the theory is that most of the filming when Florek was on set saw SVU cast members wearing all black, the color typically worn for funeral or memorial services.

While this would certainly be a sad turn of events, Law & Order: SVU has long reminded the audience of the mortality of its characters. In addition to the law enforcement officers themselves, the show has not shied away from killing off crime scene technicians, attorneys, and informants in the past.

Killing Captain Cragen, however, would certainly be a big blow for fans. It would be the definite end of an era and would be one of the most heartbreaking SVU deaths yet.

Other SVU Season 27 Theories

An SVU Funeral Might Not Be For Cragen

While the theory of Cragen’s death is certainly a likely storyline for the upcoming season of SVU, there are also plenty of other classic characters whose deaths could get other characters to return to the series.

Another running theory is that former SVU members might be reuniting for someone else’s memorial service. John Munch (Richard Belzer) retired several years ago. The character’s death was also mentioned in the series after the passing of Belzer in real life. A memorial for a fan favorite character like Munch would not be out of the question.

It’s also possible that the death in question is not even a police officer. The officers have met and interacted with a number of lawyers, judges, and agents from other government groups over the years.

Judith Light’s Judge Elizabeth Donnelly has not appeared on SVU since 2010, but she is a fan favorite whose character had a brush with death multiple times on the show. Stephanie March’s attorney Alex Cabot also left the series several years ago and is a fan favorite. Either of those characters’ deaths would also make for dramatic exits.

In less tragic SVU season 27 theories, the characters could also be present to testify in a court case or attend an award ceremony put on by the NYPD, though Huang’s appearance seems unlikely for an award ceremony. The circumstances do not have to be tragic to bring back several classic characters at once.

Whatever the reason may be, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit has only been ratcheting up the anticipation for fans with every new piece of information released about season 27.