Hartley Sawyer will be elongating his role on ‘The Flash’ in the upcoming fifth season, as he has been bumped up to series regular status. Sawyer joined the cast in a recurring role last year as Elongated Man/Ralph Dibney a disgraced former corrupt police detective-turned-private eye who had gained the power to stretch his body. Despite his questionable morals, he became a valuable ally to The Flash (Grant Gustin) during his fight against The Thinker, Clifford DeVoe (Kendrick Sampson). DeVoe appeared to kill Dibney when he used his mental powers to take over his body, but he turned out to be alive at the end and will become a more active part of Team Flash.
Danielle Nicolet, who first appeared as District Attorney Cecile Horton in Season One, then returned in a recurring role in Season Three, has also been upped to series regular for Season Five. Cecile recently discovered that she had telepathic abilities when she was pregnant, with Jenna, her daughter with love interest Joe West (Jesse L. Martin).
This news comes shortly after Keiynan Lonsdale announced that he was leaving his role as Wally West/Kid Flash on both ‘The Flash’ and ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ for the foreseeable future for personal reasons.
As for Elongated Man, his presence on ‘The Flash’ makes sense as that character originated as a frequent guest-star in the Silver Age ‘Flash’ comic books. The character and his wife Sue were inspired by Nick and Nora Charles, the comedic crime-solving couple that starred in the ‘Thin Man’ books and movies. Ralph eventually joined the Justice League and has served with the team off-and-on over the years. Sadly, Sue was killed in the controversial miniseries ‘Identity Crisis’ and Ralph was killed in the subsequent series ’52’. But it’s comics. They were both revived as part of the New 52 relaunch.
With Ralph’s detective skills, he may wind up playing a major role in the upcoming crossover event between the four Arrowverse shows, which will take place in Gotham City and introduce Batwoman.
The CW has not yet announced return dates for its programs just yet.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
