Sawyer played Elongated Man in The Flash until he was fired over unsavoury old Tweets…

Season 7 of The Flash is still going ahead without one of its regular cast members. The CW, Warner Bros. TV, Berlanti Productions and the series’ EP Eric Wallace announced back in June that Hartley Sawyer had been sacked from the show in response to old tweets that were described as “racist and misogynist”. You can see these tweets right here, with warning.

“Hartley Sawyer will not be returning for season seven of The Flash. In regards to Mr. Sawyer’s posts on social media, we do not tolerate derogatory remarks that target any race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation,” they said in a statement at the time. “Such remarks are antithetical to our values and polices, which strive and evolve to promote a safe, inclusive and productive environment for our workforce.”

Now, Wallace says that Sawyer’s firing may not mean we’ve seen the last of the character of Elongated Man aka Ralph Dibney on The Flash.

“[We’re] going to treat it like we would if we were writing a comic book graphic novel,” Wallace told EW. “We’re giving the Elongated Man a bit of a rest for while. But we will leave the door open. I’m not saying by any means that it’s the end of the character. In fact, quite the opposite. We just don’t know when he will return, or in what form he will return.”

In fact, Elongated Man may well make an appearance in Season 7, played by another actor.

“Ralph is a guy who can change faces and his appearance in many ways. Without giving any spoilers away, there are a couple of ways that we can have Elongated Man still appear in at least one episode this season to wrap that storyline up, that gets us what we need and still allows fans to say goodbye to the character, at least for the indefinite future.”

Sawyer, who had starred in the role of Dibney since season 4, took to his Instagram to issue an apology for the old tweets before his firing became official, seemingly to no avail:

“My words, irrelevant of being meant with an intent of humour, were hurtful, and unacceptable. I am ashamed I was capable of these really horrible attempts to get attention at that time. I regret them deeply. This was not acceptable behaviour. These were words I threw out at the time with no thought or recognition of the harm my words could do, and now have done today.

“I am incredibly sorry, ashamed and disappointed in myself for my ignorance back then. I want to be very clear: this is not reflective of what I think or who I am now. Years ago, thanks to friends and experiences who helped me to open my eyes, I began my journey into becoming a more responsible adult – in terms of what I say, what I do, and beyond. I’ve largely kept that journey private, and this is another way that I have let so many down. I still have more work to do.

“But how I define myself now does not take away the impact of my words, or my responsibility for them. I am very sorry.”