The Flash has killed off no shortage of villains over the course of its five seasons so far, and more deaths are undoubtedly on the way. That said, The Flash has also used timeline shenanigans to bring characters back to life. The fourth season saw a bunch of baddies bite the dust thanks to The Thinker, but are they necessarily gone for good? Derek Mears, who played the villain Dwarfstar in Season 4, chatted with CinemaBlend and said this about a potential return:
When I wrapped The Flash as Dwarfstar, everyone was so kind on that set. They treated me just like I was part of the family. And when I wrapped the show, so many people were going, 'Hey, just so you know, we're doing like the 52 different universes. So you know, they could possibly bring you back and do other things.' I go, 'Oh man, that is beyond flattering and kind.'
Derek Mears, who currently appears as Swamp Thing in Swamp Thing, revealed that the Flash team was pretty great during his time on set. He only appeared in two episodes of The Flash as Dwarfstar (also known as Sylbert Rundine), but he apparently was treated like "part of the family" anyway. All in all, it sounds like he had a positive experience worth reliving on The Flash.
Although Dwarfstar was killed by The Thinker by the end of his second episode, The Flash is really one of the best shows to be killed off of. Why? Because dying doesn't necessarily mean being gone for good. Between the multiverse of many Earths and the ability of speedsters to time travel, Derek Mears could theoretically return, to play either a resurrected/spared version of Earth-1 Dwarfstar or a Dwarfstar from one of the other Earths in the multiverse.
The actor went on to explain how the kindness of the Flash team inspired him as he began to work in his major role on Swamp Thing:
Sometimes when you come on as a guest star, you don't know anybody on set, you don't know some of the tone of the show. You're kind of the outsider, and it's a weird transition coming in; you're a guest in somebody else's house. But they treated me with such respect and kindness, and I remember talking to the actors at one point and they're like, 'Oh, we've all been guest stars, and we know how difficult it is coming in. We, we made a pact early on where anybody who comes on as a guest star, we're going to treat them like family.' Because it makes you feel comfortable, and when you're comfortable, you can give your most creative and most positive performance. So I actually learned a lot from when I was on The Flash, and so later on when I'm on Swamp Thing, it was an unspoken word when we had guests come on. Like, 'You're part of the family. What do you need? What do you need to make your art the best thing possible?' So hats off and thank you to the cast and crew of The Flash for teaching me a valuable lesson.
The kindness he was shown on the set of The Flash inspired Derek Mears to welcome Swamp Thing guest stars and treat them like family. Unfortunately, Swamp Thing got the axe from DC Universe after only one episode had aired, so Mears won't have further opportunities on that set, but the valuable lesson from The Flash will hopefully stick with him. His gracious comments about the familial atmosphere on The Flash and Swamp Thing certainly prove that he's not a real-life villain!
Season 5 of The Flash ended on a somber note thanks to the death of Nora West-Allen and the departures of some other notable characters. The season finale didn't even drop any huge hints or cliffhangers about what's to come, unless we count the key "Crisis on Infinite Earths" detail that was dropped in the episode. "Crisis" presumably won't kick off until late November or early December 2019, though, assuming this year's crossover follows the pattern of the previous five.
The "Crisis" crossover could be a great way to reintroduce Dwarfstar, all things considered! The multiverse could look very different following "Crisis," and not just because Oliver Queen is going to be out of the game. When CinemaBlend's Nick Venable asked Derek Mears about "Crisis" hopefully opening the door for more Dwarfstar, Mears said this:
Oh yeah, dude, that'd be great. I'm friends with Hartley Sawyer, who plays Elongated Man, and Danielle Panabaker. Hartley and I were texting back and forth on social media going like, wouldn't it be so cool if – though I know that they're different universes – but eventually down the line, if the shows continued, to do like a crossover or to add all the shows, like on the DCU and The CW, to do like a bigger crossover. That would just be the coolest thing in the world.
I'm guessing there are plenty of fans who would be on board with the crossovers getting bigger and bigger as the Arrow-verse carries on, even without Arrow. And Dwarfstar could potentially be part of it!
That said, it may be a while before the Arrow-verse could produce a crossover even close to the scale of "Crisis on Infinite Earths," and not just because it's inspired by an epic saga from DC Comics that changed the entire continuity in some huge ways. This will be the last crossover with Arrow, making it the only crossover to include episodes from Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and Batwoman.
If the Arrow spinoff does happen, Batwoman sticks around, and the other three shows don't end, that could theoretically allow next year's crossover to include five shows once more. Still, I can't imagine the Arrow-verse getting bigger than "Crisis on Infinite Earths." This crossover is even going to extend into the new year, with Legends of Tomorrow in midseason!
Sadly, we're still a ways off from seeing who does and doesn't reappear in the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover. You can find Derek Mears on the small screen, though, in Swamp Thing. Although the show was tragically cancelled after only one episode, all ten installments will release on DC Universe.
