Actor Keiynan Lonsdale Talks About Exit from Arrowverse

When Wally West was cast on The Flash I was excited. Not only do I love the character from his multiple previous incarnations, but as a loyal member of the Iris West defense squad, I wanted to see what a black Wally West would look like. The results were mixed, through no fault of the fantastic actor playing the role, Keiynan Lonsdale.

Lonsdale was charming, totally charismatic, and would have been perfect as Wally if they had either written him as Wally or written him as someone with long-term value to the series. When Wally got put on a bus to Legends of Tomorrow, I’d hoped it was a way for the writers to figure out a way to bring back the character and do him right. However, those hopes were crushed when it was announced that Lonsdale was not coming back to the show.

Love you all ⚡️❤️ – Keiy x pic.twitter.com/JBdxUaKocA

— Keiynan Lonsdale 🌈 (@KeiynanLonsdale) June 6, 2018

During Oz Comic-Con in Australia, Lonsdale clarified that the move was his decision, and suggested that not all hope was truly dashed about seeing Wally again.

I’m not coming back full-time, but I’ll still be like in the DC universe, just not like, I won’t be filming ten months of the year every year. It got announced and then I was like, I’ve got to make sure that people know it was my decision so that no one got too angry. I hope that everyone’s not too sad about missing Wally. (via Heroic Hollywood)

Lonsdale’s Wally is also supposed to appear in the Season Five premiere of The Flash, which should give us some insight into where Wally will go and if he does keep coming back in small ways that would be enjoyable as well. Still, I wish we could have gotten Wally West done right. The Wally/Jessie stuff never really worked for me and I’ll always resent The Flash for making Barry hook up with Linda Park.

What do you guys think? Will you be missing Keiynan Lonsdale’s version of Wally West?

(via Heroic Hollywood, image: The CW)

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