James Franco returns to General Hospital

James Franco returns to 'General Hospital,' makes plenty of phone calls

Oscar host and Oscar nominee James Franco still has time to return to "General Hospital," despite his full plate, and from the looks of these stills from his Feb. 25 episode, he'll be making a few important phone calls.

Performance artist "Franco" has been absent from Port Charles since August 2010, but his scheming has had a lingering effect. Michael Corinthos (Chad Duell) was recently revealed to have been raped in prison -- possibly on Franco's orders -- so it there could be a phoned-in confession.

Here we see Jason (Steve Burton), presumably interrupting one of Franco's phone calls or some sort of television address from his desk. Notice the semi-nude self portrait in the background.

He's got his phone back! And it looks as though he's blocking another self-portrait, perfectly coordinated to his bowl of all-red M&Ms.

How many calls will Franco make during his "GH" return? You'll have to wait until Feb. 25 -- conveniently timed to just two days ahead of ABC's Feb. 27 broadcast of the Oscars.