The showrunner of The Flash has teased that viewers may not have seen the end of Eobard Thawne. The character, played by Tom Cavanagh, has had a complicated history on the Arrowverse series. Cavanagh originally appeared on the show as Iris West's former fiancé Eddie Thawne, though he died in the season 1 finale back in 2015. The actor had the chance to reappear in the series, continuing to play his character's descendant Eobard Thawne, also known as Reverse-Flash, who had taken on the appearance of Eddie after time traveling from the future.
The most recent episode of The Flash was the season 8 finale, titled "Negative, Part Two," which aired on June 29, 2022. In that episode, Cavanagh plays Negative Reverse-Flash, who is acting on behalf of the entirety of the Negative Forces. After a climactic battle with The Flash, the character is seemingly destroyed for good.
During a post-mortem session with TVLine discussing the season 8 finale, The Flash showrunner Eric Wallace teased a little about the future of Reverse-Flash on the series. While he insists that Reverse-Flash and Negative Reverse-Flash are well and truly dead, he reminds readers that "it is a comic book show." In the world of comic books, death isn't necessarily always permanent, and he teases the same may be the case for Reverse-Flash, saying it's a "pretty safe bet" that "you might see Tom Cavanagh again." Given the fact that Cavanagh has appeared on The Flash for 138 episodes so far, it makes perfect sense that he will find his way back somehow. Check out Wallace's full quote below:
Reverse-Flash and the Negative Reverse-Flash, just like Frost, are dead. I mean, they are dead. Now… having said that… it is a comic book show, and I’m pretty sure that in Season 9, there’s some reason that you might see Tom Cavanagh again. I won’t go into it, but that’s a pretty safe bet.
One reason for this climactic death of Reverse-Flash is that Wallace thought the episode was going to end up being the series finale for The Flash. Many series on The CW did suffer an abrupt cancellation earlier this year, including the Arrowverse series DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Naomi, and Batwoman. However, after the episode was written, they were informed that the series would be renewed for season 9, but they couldn't back out of every single decision that they had made regarding the characters' fates. Not sure how to top themselves, they decided, "let's just kill him for now and worry about that later."
Another thing to remember about Wallace's quote is that he didn't promise exactly in what form Cavanagh might show up again. The actor has played a multitude of roles over the course of the series, so while this quote could be hinting at the return of some form of Reverse-Flash, it could also mean that Cavanagh will have yet another new role on the series. The Flash has always been packed with solid twists and turns, so whatever happens, it is sure to thrill longtime fans.
Source: TVLine