The Flash Confirms 3 Major Characters Returning for Final Season

The epic final season of The Flash just got bigger. This afternoon, The CW announced that Rick Cosnett, Matt Letscher, and Jessica Parker Kennedy will all be returning for the final season of The Flash. That means appearances by Eddie Thawne, the Reverse-Flash, and XS, the daughter of Barry and Iris. Or…at least we assume it means that. With Dark Multiverse doppelganger The Red Death appearing as the season’s villain, it’s entirely possible these are alternate versions of the characters…with entirely new attitudes and agendas. At minimum, fans have speculated for years whether Eddie might be revived as a version of the villain Cobalt Blue.

“We’re so excited to have Rick join us once more as we put together our final batch of emotional and thrilling episodes,” showrunner Eric Wallace told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s especially wonderful as Rick was an integral part of the show’s inaugural season. So having him return to help us conclude our show’s incredible nine-year run was more than a privilege. It was a no-brainer.”

In the first season of The Flash, Cosnett played Iris’s boyfriend, Central City Police Detective Eddie Thawne. An ancestor of the Reverse-Flash, Eddie took his own life in order to prevent the villain from ever being born. He has returned to play the character in flashbacks, alternate realities, and other superhero shenanigans in seasons 2, 3, and 8.

Letscher is one of two actors who has played the Reverse-Flash throughout the Arrowverse, the other being Tom Cavanagh. The idea is that Letscher is how Eobard Thawne actually looks, but his first and most frequent disguise was the face of Harrison Wells, played by Cavanagh. Letscher played the character in a handful of episodes of The Flash, but was the Reverse-Flash for a whole season on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and reprised the role in that show’s final season last spring, as well as season 8 of The Flash.

“Having the incredibly gracious and talented Matt Letscher return for our final season was something we couldn’t resist,” Wallace told EW. “So, we created a very special story for him, one we’ve been excited to tell for a while, but couldn’t until now. The result is a wild and bittersweet episode we hope fans — both old and new — will love.” 

Rounding out the announcement is Kennedy, whose character had previously died during season five. Nora West-Allen, also known as XS, was a speedster from the future, who came back to help Barry, and later revealed that she had never known her father, because he died in Crisis on Infinite Earths when she as very young. After an encounter with Cicada, she was wiped from existence, but after Barry survived the Crisis, and the timeline was realigned (possibly by a dying Spectre/Oliver Queen), Nora was back…and this time, she had a twin brother, Bart.

“The Flash has always been a show about the importance of family,” Wallace said. “So having the incredible Jessica Parker Kennedy back as fan-favorite speedster XS was always in the cards. As the daughter of Barry and Iris, Jessica’s already made an unforgettable mark on our show’s history. And with her latest season 9 adventure, Jessica’s taking her incredible portrayal of Nora West-Allen to even greater heights in a way the audience has never seen before.”

The ninth and final season of The Flash will premiere on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.