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The next season of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' will go on with Glenn Howerton, or without him

"I will say this: All joking aside, I love these guys and we have an absolute blast working together," Howerton said. "We'll see."

(L to R) Glenn Howerton as Dennis, Charlie Day as Charlie, Rob McElhenney as Mac, Kaitlin Olson as Dee, and Danny DeVito as Frank in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.’
(L to R) Glenn Howerton as Dennis, Charlie Day as Charlie, Rob McElhenney as Mac, Kaitlin Olson as Dee, and Danny DeVito as Frank in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.’Read morePatrick McElhenney/FXX

Glenn Howerton still isn't sure if he will return to the show as lovable sociopath Dennis Reynolds, but the next season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia will go on with or without him.

The cast of It's Always Sunny talked about the Dennis situation in a panel discussion at the Vulture Festival in Los Angeles over the weekend, revealing that the Gang will be back in the writers' room by Feb. 2018. As IndieWire reports, and production is set to begin in April. Co-creator and St. Joe's Prep grad Rob McElhenney expects to the show's 13th season will premiere in FXX fall 2018.

McElhenney, however, did not address Dennis' return to the series, which has been in jeopardy since the conclusion of last season. In that season's finale, "Dennis' Double Life," Howerton's Dennis learns that he fathered a child in the show's 10th season. With the new knowledge that he is a father, Dennis tells the Gang that he "can't do any of this [expletive] anymore," thereby opening a way for Dennis to leave the show.

It was later revealed that Howerton had scored a pilot on NBC for a show called AP Bio that has since been ordered to series. The show could cut down on Howerton's time to devote to It's Always Sunny, but he hasn't yet committed to leaving the show, or sticking around for season 13. AP Bio reportedly will premiere in early 2018. If Howerton decided to stay, he would not be the only It's Always Sunny cast member with another network gig. Kaitlin Olson, aka Sweet Dee, has a starring role on Fox's  The Mick.

But Howerton was similarly mum at Vulture Festival, and avoided answering whether he'd be back next year.

"I will say this: All joking aside, I love these guys and we have an absolute blast working together," Howerton said. "We'll see."

McElhenney, meanwhile, told the crowd that "we've got all sorts of surprises" for season 13.

Earlier this year, series costar Charlie Day, however, said that "we really never want to do the show without Dennis."

"There is a possibility that maybe we would have Dennis in part of a season, not a complete season," Day told the Huffington Post in August, adding that "I imagine we've not seen the last of Dennis Reynolds.