The Real Reason Tom Felton Left The Flash
It's a given that characters will come and go on your favorite TV shows — especially superhero series, which depend on a steady stream of new villains and allies to keep things fresh — but Julian Albert's unceremonious exit from Team Flash still haunts viewers all the same. Tom Felton, who is best known for playing Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, portrayed Julian through season 3 of The Flash where he proved himself to be an asset to Barry's team and to the show as a whole. Unfortunately, by the time season 4 premiered, Julian had suddenly returned to London, never to be heard from again. To this day, fans still wonder why Felton really left The Flash.
The truth is, Felton's exit came about for a fairly mundane reason. In a 2018 interview with Digital Spy, the actor explained that his contract was only for a single season. When season 3 ended, the Harry Potter star moved on to other projects, while The Flash jumped headlong into a series of increasingly complex time and universe-hopping stories that Julian simply didn't fit into. Despite the underwhelming end to Julian's story, Felton would love to return to the series and see where the brilliant, Caitlin-smitten crime lab worker is today.
Felton left The Flash on good terms with his castmates
Shockingly, Felton revealed to Digital Spy that these days people are more likely to recognize him from his single-season stint on The Flash than they are from his time spent playing Hogwarts' resident bully, Draco. "More fans these days approach me for that than they do for Potter, which is a real tribute, I think," he shared.
Overall, season 3 of The Flash wasn't the show's strongest year, but Felton was a highlight. Julian is at once a bright scientist determined to help Caitlin find a way to suppress the evil Killer Frost, and a man struggling with his own demons. His desire to use the Philosopher's Stone to bring his sister back to life leads to Dr. Alchemy gaining control over his mind for a brief period of time. Julian's complexity allowed Felton to truly shed Draco, and lose himself in an entirely new character.
As a result, Felton is ready and willing to return to The Flash whenever the writers are prepared to bring Julian back. "I miss it. I miss those guys terribly, yeah," he said to Digital Spy. "I miss Grant, and all the team there. I had a great time there in Vancouver for nine months. Yeah, I say bring back Julian!"
Felton has been keeping busy with a steady stream of movies
Since Julian was written off The Flash, Felton has continued to carve out his post-Harry Potter career with a series of diverse film roles. In 2018, he starred opposite Daisy Ridley in the Hamlet retelling Ophelia, and in 2019, he nabbed the lead role in writer-director Sean McEwen's indie dramedy Braking for Whales. Perhaps most exciting for fans of Harry Potter, the actor took on a brand new Slytherin-esque role in Netflix's A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting as the Grand Guignol.
As the film's primary villain, Felton gets to let loose with a character that he describes in a Netflix featurette as "half monster, half rock star." The Grand Guignol is a far cry from Julian (or even Draco, for that matter), but the character is just one more example of the actor's impressive range — a range that The Flash writers should take advantage of if they ever concoct a compelling reason for Felton to return to the Team Flash fold.