The Flash Star Carlos Valdes Says He’s Not Leaving the Show

The Flash‘s Season 5 finale brought some major changes to The CW series. The heroes managed to defeat Cicada, but in the process freed Barry Allen’s (Grant Gustin) worst enemy, Eobard Thawne (Tom Cavanagh) and ultimately led Barry and Iris’ (Candice Patton) daughter Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) being erased from existence. It also saw Cisco (Carlos Valdes) take the metahuman cure, thus getting rid of his powers. That status change for Cisco led many to speculate that Valdes himself would be leaving the series but the actor is making it clear that is definitely not the case.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, Valdes was very direct in stating that he was not leaving The Flash.

“I’m not leaving the show this season. I know everybody here is wondering, I know,” Valdes said. “I see that look on your face. I’m not leaving the show. I love these guys. These guys love me, clearly. I love being in the room with these guys. I’m not leaving anytime soon.”

With Valdes not leaving the show, it does make one wonder what’s in store for Cisco in Season 6. While Cisco has done double duty on both the science side of things for Team Flash as well as operated as the hero Vibe for a bit now, he started out just doing the science things before his powers were even known. It’s very likely that, given that Cisco only gave up his powers and Vibe life and didn’t actually quit Star Labs or move away he’s simply going back to that role on the series. And Cisco on support is likely something Team Flash will absolutely need in Season 6. Not only is “Crisis on Infinite Earths” coming as well as a new big bad that may be the most personal villain The Flash has faced yet.

“The emotional journey that the big bad is on mirrors the emotional journey that Barry Allen must face going into season 6,” showrunner Eric Wallace revealed. “The big bad this season, if we can do our jobs right, will be the most personal villain the Flash has ever faced emotionally since Eobard Thawne. Because this year’s big bad is facing kind of the same circumstances Barry Allen is going through, it’s going to bring them closer together in a darker way than villains that perhaps we’ve seen in the last few seasons.”

This notion that it’s a new, comic-accurate character certainly is intriguing, as it rules out almost all of the Big Bad theories that fans already had. Both Red Death and Evan McCulloch/Mirror Master were name-dropped in some capacity last season, but it sounds like they’re out of the running this time around. It also sounds like, especially since they were casting for the part earlier this month, that it won’t be a new version of a character who already appeared on the show — which should make for an exciting reveal when it happens.

Are you glad that Valdes isn’t leaving The Flash? Let us know in the comments below.

The Flash‘s sixth season will begin Tuesday, October 8th, at 8/7c on The CW.