Tom Cavanagh and Carlos Valdes are officially leaving The Flash at the end of season 7. The Arrowverse launched its first spinoff show in 2014 with Grant Gustin's Barry Allen starring in a solo series for DC's Scarlet Speedster. The Flash got off to an excellent start and remained one of the Arrowverse's most popular shows as more spinoffs were announced. It is currently in its seventh season, and The CW has already renewed The Flash for season 8, ensuring that Barry's adventures will continue for another season.
For any show with longevity like The Flash, it is common for regular cast members to begin to drop out. Whether that is to pursue other projects or any other reason, this is something the Arrowverse faced before with Emily Bett Rickards exiting Arrow or Keiyon Lonsdale walking away from his role as Wally West in The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. For the most part, The Flash has retained its original core cast members, such as Candice Patton (Iris West-Allen), Jesse L. Martin (Joe West), and Danielle Panabaker (Caitlin Snow/Killer Frost). That will now change after The Flash season 7.
According to Deadline, Tom Cavanagh and Carlos Valdes are both leaving The Flash after season 7. Cavanagh's Harrison Wells and Valdes' Cisco Ramon have been series regulars since the show's first season. Cavanagh is expected to appear in at least one more episode in The Flash season 7, while Valdes' time with the series will end with the season 7 finale. The Flash executive producer and showrunner Eric Wallace confirmed their departures with the following statement:
Tom and Carlos have been an integral part of our show for seven seasons, and will be greatly missed. Both are incredible talents who created beloved characters that fans and audiences around the world have come to love. Which is why we are happily keeping the door open for return appearances.
A cast shakeup for The Flash has been rumored multiple times in the past. There was a point where it appeared Valdes would leave the series after season 5, but he wound up returning as Cisco for two more seasons. Meanwhile, Cavanagh reportedly was scheduled to leave The Flash after season 6, but those plans changed due to COVID-19. Now that they are both exiting the show, this report notes that Gustin is already under contract for season 8, but Patton and Panabaker are negotiating new deals to return. Unless the show is comfortable losing even more main cast members, those deals are expected to be completed.
Tom Cavanagh and Carlos Valdes leaving will be sad news for fans of The Flash to hear. Cavanagh has played several versions of Wells during his tenure on the show, and the constant reinvention of his role made him a fan-favorite character. Since Wells hasn't been featured for most of season 7 after becoming Timeless Wells, The Flash has already adjusted to life without him. The absence of Valdes will be an even bigger loss for the show and Team Flash. Cisco Ramon has always been an integral part of the team, so it will be fascinating to see what brings the character to exit The Flash's story. Luckily, the door will remain open for both actors/characters to return at a later point if there is a desire to do so.
Source: Deadline