Eddie Thawne is back! Original ‘The Flash’ star Rick Cosnett confirms surprise Season 8 return

One of the original stars of The Flash is coming back all these years later, and we have a whole lot of questions for how this is going to work — and what it means for the Arrowverse.

Rick Cosnett, who was a series regular on The Flash’s first season portraying Detective Eddie Thawne, has confirmed via social media that he’s back on set and part of the show’s eighth season, which is currently in production. If you're a bit rusty on the history: Eddie was Joe’s original partner at the Central City Police Department, as well as Iris’ fiancé, when the series first began. 

Eddie sacrificed himself in the Season 1 finale in an effort to stop his future ancestor Eobard Thawne, aka Reverse-Flash, from coming to be. Obviously Reverse-Flash still found a way to exist (comic books!), but Eddie died a hero, proving there can be a good Thawne or two in the world. This being the Arrowverse, he popped up a few times in the next season or two for some cameo and flashback appearances, but it’s been a long time since we’ve actually seen Eddie. So this news raises plenty of questions.

Here’s Cosnett’s to-the-point confirmation via Instagram: “If you hadn’t guessed … I’m in the new season of #TheFlash”

So how is Eddie back in the world of The Flash? Considering the Arrowverse has never been shy about playing with the multiverse, there’s always the chance that Eddie could be a doppelgänger when he shows up. Or it could be the result of time travel or an altered timeline. Or perhaps there’s a Reverse-Flash case that comes up and they just really need a relative of Thawne to crack? Regardless, a lot has changed since Eddie’s death seven seasons ago. Most notably Barry and Iris are now happily married, so that’ll certainly make for a bit of awkwardness when Eddie somehow reappears.

His return could also be linked to the big five-part “Armageddon” event that will be kicking off Season 8 and is already stacked with guest stars. The event will bring in crossover heroes like Batwoman (Javicia Leslie), the Atom (Brandon Routh), Black Lightning (Cress Williams), Sentinel/Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), Mia Queen (Kat McNamara), and Ryan Choi (Osric Chau) — so why not Eddie, too?

Season 8 of The Flash premieres Tuesday, Nov. 16 on The CW.