The CW’s Flash show has been running along for eight seasons now, with its ninth and final season hitting in just a few days. In what’s pretty typical for the final seasons of shows that know they’re going to end, the CW is bringing back as many actors from the show’s history as it can manage, and recently announced another trio to the ensemble.
As revealed by Entertainment Weekly, the show’s final season will see the return of actors Jessica Parker Kennedy (Nora West-Allen/XS), Rick Cosnett (Eddie Thawne), and Matt Letscher (Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash). Granted, this isn’t entirely surprising: all three characters were guest stars in the previous Flash season for an episode or more, and Letscher also popped up as Thawne in the seventh (and final) season of Legends of Tomorrow last year. His character got murdered in that show, but hey, who is Eobard Thawne if not someone who manages to cheat death despite looking pretty conclusively dead?
Speaking to EW, showrunner Eric Wallace talked about how getting all three actors back for the last season was always in the plans. He mentioned that Thawne’s appearance was a “very special one” that had been planned for some time, and would be “a wild and bittersweet episode.” Wallace gave a similar tease for Kennedy’s return as Nora, saying she’s “taking her incredible portrayal of Nora West-Allen to even greater heights in a way the audience has never seen before.”
At time of writing, fellow returning guest stars across The Flash’s nine-year history include Arrow alums Stephen Amell and David Ramsey, former Kid Flash Keiynan Lonsdale, and John Wesley Shipp. The final season is also gaining some actors from the larger Arrowverse, as Nicole Maines and Javicia Leslie will be back as their respective characters Dreamer and Batwoman. However, Leslie is also said to be playing another character whose identity is currently under wraps.
The Flash will begin its final season on The CW starting on February 8.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
