Former The Flash cast member Carlos Valdes has confirmed that he was unable to return for the Arrowverse drama's series finale due to scheduling conflicts.
"I did consider it," admitted Valdes to Entertainment Weekly. "Honestly, there was no way to make it happen with regards to my schedule and just all the different creative ventures and life circumstances that I was trying to juggle at that time." The actor explained that he was filming Hulu's musical romantic comedy Up Here at the same time that The Flash was in production on its ninth and final season. "I couldn't really make it work, which was really heartbreaking to me because I thought, if I decided to step away from the show, at the very least I have to be there for the finale to round this thing out and to really honor the full circle-ness of it," added Valdes. "It was really heartbreaking to not be able to make it work."
Valdes made his Arrowverse debut as Cisco Ramon in Arrow Season 2 episode, "The Man Under the Hood." He was then a main cast member on The Flash for the show's first seven seasons, providing tech support for the Scarlet Speedster and the rest of Team Flash. He departed The Flash midway through the seventh season but returned for the season finale, which saw Cisco officiate the West-Allen vow renewal. Since then, the character has been living off-screen in Star City with his girlfriend Kamilla (Victoria Park) and working for A.R.G.U.S. as the Director of Technology and Science.
The Flash Series Finale Brings Back Several Former Stars
While Valdes was unable to return for The Flash's series finale, several other former cast members were able to make their schedules work. Among the stars returning is John Wesley Shipp as Jay Garrick/The Flash. Shipp portrayed Barry Allen/The Flash in the 1990s live-action The Flash series before playing both Barry's father Henry Allen and Jay Garrick in the Arrowverse The Flash series. Shipp can be spotted in the first trailer for the series finale, "A New World, Part Four," beside Grant Gustin's Scarlet Speedster, suggesting that the two will be working together to stop Cobalt Blue (Rick Cosnett), who has resurrected several villainous speedsters like Tom Cavanagh's Reverse-Flash and Teddy Sears' Zoom.
Barry Allen Has to Save the Timeline Again
In "A New World, Part Four" -- which The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace recently revealed is inspired by the series finales of Lost, Angel and The Office -- Barry Allen is "tasked with his greatest challenge yet, to save the timeline and save existence. Friends old and new gather for an epic battle to save Central City, one last time," reads the official synopsis for the 13th and final episode of The Flash Season 9.
The Flash's series finale, "A New World, Part Four," airs on The CW on Wednesday, May 24.
Source: Entertainment Weekly