The actor to play two different versions of the scarlet speedster, John Wesley Shipp, sends off The Flash in the midst of The CW show's final season.Along with Zoom actor Teddy Sears, Shipp is confirmed to return to his role as Flash Jay Garrick for the show's ninth and final season. Shipp took a moment to share a selfie on Twitter ahead of filming, writing alongside the post, "Time-in to express my gratitude for many kind & supportive articles & messages you send me as I prepare to bid farewell to yet another character in The Flash franchise (again lol!) The adventure continues, and it would be nothing without you."
Shipp first joined The Flash franchise in 1990 when he starred as Flash Barry Allen in the short-lived CBS series, and returned to Central City in 2014 for The CW's Arrow spinoff as Henry Allen, the incarcerated father of the new Barry Allen played by The Flash star Grant Gustin. Henry was killed by Sears' villainous Zoom in the show's second season, but Shipp stuck around to play Jay Garrick, an older Flash from another Earth. Jay would recur across following seasons, and appeared on Stargirl as a member of the Justice Society of America. Shipp did get the opportunity to portray his own version of Barry Allen in the Arrowverse though, labeled as the Flash of Earth-90, who appears in the "Elseworlds" and "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossovers.
Who Else Is Returning for The Flash's Final Season?
Along with Shipp, The Flash's final season will see the return of several major characters from the show's nine-year run, including Rick Cosnett as Detective Eddie Thawne, Jessica Parker Kennedy as Nora West-Allen/XS and Matt Letscher as Barry's archenemy, Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash. Showrunner Eric Wallace has teased a climactic final showdown between Barry and Reverse Flash in Season 9, saying, "Every time Matt has been on the show, he's only played, no matter what version of it, one unforgettable character, and that is the Reverse-Flash. I don't see that changing this season." Wallace added, "However, the question is how can he be alive when we all saw him die? And if he is still alive, what does that mean for Barry Allen?"
The End of The Flash Is the Arrowverse's Finale
Season 9 will not only close out The Flash, but also the broader DC television continuity known as the Arrowverse. For this final chapter, The Flash is bringing back actor Stephen Amell as the franchise's first hero from Arrow, Oliver Queen/Green Arrow. Wallace has promised the reunion between Barry and Oliver will be "extremely emotional" and that "there won't be a dry eye in the house at the end of that episode."
Amell himself teased his Green Arrow return, saying, "I love the cast. I love the crew. So, for Greg Berlanti, thank you. For Eric Wallace, thank you. For Grant and Candice [Patton] and Danielle [Panabaker], who's directing, and the rest of the cast, thank you for having me." For fans wondering how Green Arrow will return despite him dying in "Crisis on Infinite Earths," Amell added, "Don't ask me any more fucking questions about it. Just tune in when it airs later this year."
New episodes of The Flash air Wednesday nights on The CW.
Source: Twitter