After being introduced in the middle of Arrow Season 2 and returning to lead his own TV show less than a year later, Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen is entering the final stretch of his race. The Flash will soon return for its final season comprised of just 13 episodes, and over the last several months, numerous familiar faces have been announced to return to the Scarlet Speedster’s CW series. Now we can add three more names to that list, as The Flash Season 9 has officially looped Rick Cosnett’s Eddie Thawne, Matt Letscher’s Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash and Jessica Parker Kennedy’s Nora Allen/XS back in.
These latest castings were unveiled by EW, although showrunner Eric Wallace did not reveal specifically which episodes any of these three characters will appear in. Rick Cosnett, Matt Letscher and Jessica Parker Kennedy all most recently appeared in The Flash Season 8, and each have been integral to the show’s mythology in their own special ways, so it’s good to hear they’ll be back for the final season.
Rick Cosnett was part of The Flash Season 1’s main cast, with Eddie Thawne being Joe West’s partner at the CCPD and an ancestor of Eobard Thawne’s. Eddie killed himself in The Flash Season 1 finale to erase Eobard from existence (which unfortunately didn’t pay off), but Cosnett returned in Season 3 as a Speed Force manifestation in Eddie’s likeness, and and then in Season 8 both as Eddie back in The Flash Season 1 days when Nora Allen and Bart Allen traveled back to 2014, as well as Deathstorm using Eddie’s likeness. Eric Wallace stated that including Cosnett in The Flash’s final season “was more than a privilege. It was a no-brainer.”
While Tom Cavanagh has chiefly played Eobard Thawne/Reverse-Flash throughout The Flash’s run, Matt Letscher has played the character in his original form, before he took on Harrison Wells’ appearance. Letscher first made guest appearances as Eobard during The Flash’s first three seasons, then a time remnant version of him hopped over to be one of Legends of Tomorrow’s main villains in Season 2. A redeemed Eobard then resurfaced in Legends Season 7, and he was then brought over to The Flash Season 8, although he seemingly met his demise when the original Eobard, still using Wells’ face, used his body as a way to resurrect himself with the help of the Negatives Forces. Eric Wallace said that “a very special story” has been crafted for Eobard that’s resulted in “a wild and bittersweet episode we hope fans — both old and new — will love.”
Finally, after popping in and out of The Flash Season 4 as an unidentified woman interested in Team Flash, Jessica Parker Kennedy’s Nora Allen revealed herself as Barry and Iris’ future daughter in that season’s finale, and she was a main cast member in Season 5. Although the original version of Nora was erased from existence when Cicada’s dagger was destroyed, a new version of Nora, who now had Bart Allen as her brother, debuted in Season 7. According to Eric Wallace, The Flash Season 9 will Kennedy “taking her incredible portrayal of Nora West-Allen to even greater heights in a way the audience has never seen before.”
Other notable Arrowverse alums showing up in The Flash Season 9 include Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow (who died in the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event), David Ramsey as John Diggle/Spartan, Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West/Kid Flash, Nicole Maines as Nia Nal/Dreamer, Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder/Batwoman (as well as a mystery character), Sendhil Ramamurthy as Ramsay Rosso/Bloodwork, and Andy Mientus as Hartley Rathaway/Pied Piper. As far as new faces go, the only one who’s been revealed so far is Richard Harmon as Owen Mercer, the new Captain Boomerang who will be a recurring adversary this season. Season 9 also sees Jesse L. Martin only recurring as Joe West, while Jon Cor’s Mark Blaine/Chillblaine has been upgraded to the main cast.
The Flash Season 9 premieres Wednesday, February 8 on The CW. While we wait to hear if there are any other established characters who will be back for this last batch of episodes, scan through our 2023 TV schedule and the other upcoming DC TV shows lined up.
