The Flash showrunner digs into that surprising death, what’s next for ‘Wells’ in Season 7

The seventh season premiere of The CW’s Flash brought big twists, surprises, reveals — and one major exit for a key member of Team Flash. So what’s next after that death?

In the wake of the season premiere, showrunner Eric Wallace chatted with Entertainment Weekly about the fallout fans should expect now that Nash Wells is gone, having sacrificed his life to be absorbed into the new Artificial Speed Force device to give The Flash back his super speed. It was a sweet moment, and really felt earned, as Nash finally makes the ultimate sacrifice to earn some redemption.

But does it mean co-star Tom Cavanagh (aka Wells) is leaving the show? Of course not — losing a version of Wells has become an annual tradition on The Flash, as Cavanagh has now embodied a half-dozen or so different versions of Wells from across the multiverse. Nash was only the latest iteration fans met, and though it seems all those multiversal versions are now using their mojo to power the Artificial Speed Force, Wallace confirmed Cavanagh will still be plenty busy in Season 7.

“I would say, ‘Fans of Tom Cavanagh, you should keep watching this show.’ Just because somebody’s dead doesn’t mean they don’t have plenty more to do,” Wallace told Entertainment Weekly. “Why would Tom Cavanagh leave the show without saying goodbye to Carlos [Valdes]’ Cisco? We cannot allow that. Look for Tom to reappear in a unique way we haven’t seen before.”

Hmm, a "unique" way? That makes you wonder if we won't just get some new version of Wells this time around. Maybe Eobard Thawne returns wearing Cavanagh's face and sticks around to take on a mutual threat? A time-displaced Wells? Or some kind of AI hologram version of Wells that was backed up without anyone's knowledge? So many options, it'll be interesting to find out how they play this one moving forward.

Wallace went on to talk about how Nash’s sacrifice was also an opportunity to not only get Flash back his super-speed (it’d be kinda hard to do a Flash TV show with a permanently slow Barry Allen, after all), but give his arc a redemptive crescendo after he helped bring about the end of the multiverse in last year’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event.

“We don't really talk about it overtly, but he does make amends for the biggest mistake one can possibly make, which is causing all of the worlds to die, essentially, and being kind of taken over by the Anti-Monitor,” he said. “What he's doing here is he's taking, from my point of view, the greatest superhero in the Arrowverse, the Flash [laughs], and enabling him once again to do his job. There could be no greater way to honor and make amends than doing that.”

The Flash airs Tuesday nights on The CW.