After the initial shock when news came out that Hartley Sawyer had been fired and will no longer be appearing in The Flash season 7, fans are now wondering what the show's bosses will do about the situation.
No question that the departure of Sawyer, who portrayed Ralph Dibny aka Elongated Man, poses a big problem for The Flash team especially of the major role that he played in the finale of season 6.
Sawyer joined The Flash during season 4 in 2017 and was made a regular in 2018 wherein Elongated Man became an important member of Team Flash.
Sawyer was fired over tweets he posted before he became part of The Flash that were tinged with racism, sexism and even violence.
According to Hollywood Reporter, The CW, Warner Bros. TV and Berlanti Productions, and executive producer Eric Wallace issued a joint statement saying that they do not tolerate derogatory remarks such as the ones made by Sawyer because they were against the policies and the values that they strive to promote among their workforce.
Though Sawyer had issued an apology which seemed sincere, those who have read his posts don't think that it will be enough to get him back on the show.
It does not help Sawyer that his tweets, although made years back, surfaced just now when America is grappling with the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, an African American, who died at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.
Considering the big role that Sawyer's character played in the season 6 finale, it will most unlikely that The CW will come up with a new character to replace Dibny much like what they did with the Batwoman, which also saw the departure of Ruby Rose who played the titular role of Batwoman aka Kate Kane.
To recast would probably be the most plausible but there is also the question if they would immediately find someone who would have good chemistry with Natalie Rachel Dreyfuss, who played the role of Sue Dearbon.
It would be interesting to see how The CW will go about this The Flash problem.
