After seven seasons and a variety of different Wellses from multiple universes, Tom Cavanagh will be exiting The Flash. Although it’ll be hard to imagine the CW superhero series without a variation of Harrison Wells, Cavanagh has revealed why he ultimately decided to leave the series after so long.
Since his debut on the show, Tom Cavanagh has portrayed renowned scientist Harrison Wells, or a version of him at least. These iterations have included the Flash’s biggest foe Eobard Thawne, Harry Wells, Sherloque and more recently, Nash Wells, along with others. With the many different characters and only so much an actor can do, it was only just a matter of time before Cavanagh decided to call it quits. He told Entertainment Weekly what the deciding factor was and how long he’d been planning it:
No, that was my decision. It was definitely my decision. . . . You also have to keep in mind that the show you're doing is not called Wells. It's called The Flash. At a certain point I [thought] in the back of my head, "I'm going to do this for as long as I really feel challenged and it's enjoyable and that I'm contributing to Flash's story line." I thought after [in a French accent] Sherloque was tracking down himself, the Reverse Flash, even early on in that season, ‘Yeah, this feels like I might be heading towards the exit now.’ I thought [that would be] a perfect denouement. The Wells characters have been fun, but like we say, the show is called The Flash and it'll be fine without me.
Perhaps Tom Cavanagh’s most memorable The Flash character is Barry's greatest enemy, Reverse Flash. And even though Cavanagh will no longer be on the series very soon, he believes the Reverse Flash will always be out there somewhere, waiting to strike:
What's nice is I feel like in the same way that you've got the Joker and Batman, or Luthor and Superman, closure is a tricky word because I think you're always kind of biding your time, you know what I mean? At some point when you want to say, ‘Okay, well, because the Flash is going to determine the story lines, what's the best way for the Flash to go out?’ So, I think the fact that the Reverse Flash is still out there speeding around is enough to give any good-willed super-speedster pause. And that's nice for me because I like the fact that out there somewhere is this villain that I play lurking and biding his time.
While it’s unknown whether fans will be able to see Tom Cavanagh’s latest Wells iteration, Timeless Wells, again, let's hope this won’t be the last time Wells is seen in Central City, whatever capacity that may be. Meanwhile, Cavanagh is set to direct the Season 1 finale of Superman & Lois later this summer. The Flash also recently set up Carlos Valdes' exit, who will also be leaving during Season 7.
New episodes of The Flash air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on The CW.
