While The Flash‘s Season 7 premiere is still a ways away, fans have already begun to speculate about what the future could hold for the series’ ensemble. This has especially been the case for Ralph Dibny/Elongated Man, after actor Hartley Sawyer was fired from the series for his offensive tweets earlier this year. Considering the fact that the show’s Season 6 narrative was left unfinished due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many assumed that Ralph would continue to play a part in the events of the show — and it sounds like he will, to an extent. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace confirmed that the show will technically be recasting a new actor to play Ralph, before the character takes a bit of a backseat during the events of Season 7.
“It’s funny, I guess technically it would be a recasting, but the character won’t be a big part of season 7. He’ll only be a part of just wrapping up the Sue storyline,” Wallace explained. “Yes, one could say it is a recasting, but we’re going to do it in a way that I think honors the spirit of the character and provides not only a satisfying conclusion to Sue’s murder mystery, but also it’s done with some humor.”
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Season 6’s abridged finale ended with Sue Dearbon (Natalie Dreyfuss) – Ralph’s eventual wife in the comics – being framed by Mirror Mistress for the murder of Joseph Carver. Given how tied Ralph and Sue’s storylines have been thus far, it’s understandable that Ralph would need to be part of that — even if he doesn’t continue on the show in the immediate aftermath.
“In order to wrap that up, which we’re going to do at the top of season 7, Ralph has to be part of that,” Wallace added. “Now thank goodness, Ralph is a guy who can change faces and his appearance in many ways. Without giving any spoilers away, there are a couple of ways that we can have Elongated Man still appear in at least one episode this season to wrap that storyline up, that gets us what we need and still allows fans to say goodbye to the character, at least for the indefinite future.”
What do you think of how The Flash is going to handle Ralph Dibny’s recasting? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
The Flash is expected to return with new episodes in January of 2021.