John Wesley Shipp just turned up on Stargirl this week, marking the former DC Universe show’s first proper crossover with the Arrowverse, and now Shipp has confirmed that it won’t be long until we see him don his metal helmet once more as Jay Garrick. Shipp returned as Garrick for the first time since before “Crisis on Infinite Earths” in the final two episodes of The Flash season 7, and the actor has revealed that he’ll be returning soon in season 8.
In season 7, it was established that, in the future, Jay has a close relationship with Barry’s son Bart (Jordan Fisher), who calls him “Uncle Jay”. When asked by CBR if he would be interested in exploring this further, Shipp said that he would be and teased that he’s actually due to start shooting on The Flash later this month.
“I would… and they’ve set it up,” Shipp said about returning to The Flash. “I can tell you that I will be going back in about a week and a half to shoot more Flash.”
This seemed to indicate that Fisher might be about to return to the show, as well, but Shipp went on to stress that this isn’t necessarily the case. That said, he has chatted with EP Eric Wallace about tackling Jay and Bart’s mentor/student dynamic in the near future.
“I’m not sure exactly what time it will be, but Eric Wallace and I have discussed having the opportunity to explore Jay Garrick as a mentor that we missed with Wally,” he continued. “There was an opportunity with Wally, but we missed it. I would love now to be able to fulfill that playing Jay, that relationship that they set up and that Jordan Fisher set up and the writers set up so beautifully in those last two [Flash] episodes.”
By the sounds of things, then, Shipp will return as Jay for an episode in the first half of season 8 and it’s possible that he could pop up later in the run for a reunion with Fisher’s Bart. That sounds plausible as it’s unlikely that, now Bart’s been introduced and Jessica Parker Kennedy’s Nora has been resurrected, the West-Allen kids wouldn’t be brought back this season. Hopefully, we’ll get them for more than just two episodes this time around, too.
But there are plenty more much-anticipated returns before these speedsters show up. The Flash season 8 kicks off with a multi-part crossover event titled “Armageddon” which features Javicia Leslie’s Batwoman, Cress Williams’ Black Lightning, Brandon Routh’s Atom, and many more. The new run premieres on November 16th on The CW.