The Flash Season 7 Will Recast Elongated Man

Forum 3 years ago

The Flash Season 7 Will Recast Elongated Man

The Flash season 7 will recast Ralph Dibny, aka the Elongated Man, instead of writing him out right away. Hartley Sawyer joined The Flash in season 4 as the recurring Ralph, a private investigator with the ability to change his appearance and body at will. Sawyer would later go on to become a series regular for The Flash in seasons 5 and 6, and the impromptu season 6 finale set up a major story for Ralph after his comics wife Sue Dearbon (Natalie Dreyfuss) was framed for murder.

However, fans were shocked when Sawyer was abruptly fired in June. The actor had come under fire for the reemergence of past racist and misogynistic tweets, leading to The Flash letting him go. At the time, there was no word on how The Flash would deal with his exit, and there was no mention of it at the show's DC FanDome panel this past weekend. Now, however, things have become clearer.

In talking to EW, showrunner Eric Wallace has revealed how The Flash will proceed with its story without Sawyer's involvement. It turns out, Ralph will still be around when season 7 picks up, but he'll be played by someone new. Wallace said:

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. 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.

...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. 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.

This does make one wonder where The Flash season 7 will be heading now, since Ralph seemed poised to have a big role in what was to come. Wallace confirmed as much later in the interview, but explained that they were able to put the focus on entirely different character. Therefore, fans probably shouldn't get attached to the new Ralph when he arrives in The Flash season 7. At least, they shouldn't until they know he'll be back, because it does sound like the door will be left open for that possibility. Regardless, though, Sue Dearbon will continue to appear on the show.

The Flash is approaching their major casting change differently than fellow Arrowverse show Batwoman. Just a month before Sawyer's firing, Batwoman lead Ruby Rose announced she was exiting the series after just one season. In response, Batwoman will pivot and focus on an entirely new character played by Javicia Leslie. The Flash opting to simply recast Ralph makes more sense though, since Ralph already has the ability to change his face. It might be strange to see The Flash without him, but perhaps it is for the best. As of right now, Ralph's new face hasn't been cast, but hopefully he'll fit right into Team Flash when he arrives.