The Flash's Final Season Is Going Out with a Bang (and Three Familiar Faces)
The Flash's ninth and final season, consisting of 13 episodes and at least two arcs, will start airing on February 8, 2023.
Among other things, it is confirmed to involve the return of three fan favorite characters: Wally West/Kid Flash (Keiynan Lonsdale), John Diggle/Spartan (David Ramsey) and Ramsey Rosso/Bloodwork (Sendhil Ramamurthy).
Showrunner Eric Wallace specifically confirmed their return and added some comments about the characters and the roles they are supposed to play in the final season.
Regarding Kid Flash, he noted that the team "…set out to create a special and heartfelt story for his return" and promised "…a brilliant performance from Keiynan that showcases a side of Wally West you've never seen before." (via)
Wallace called John Diggle "…one of the legacy Arrowverse characters who helped start it all," and noted that making him return for the final season was a "no-brainer".
He also promised that "…the villainous Bloodwork's return will set into motion one of the Flash 's wildest and most emotional adventures yet."
As for the fan reactions to those revelations, the upcoming return of Wally/Kid Flash produced the most enthusiasm.
There's much catching up to do with his character, there's a belief that so far Wally West was largely wasted in this series, and cautious hope that the final season might fix that.
Some people even hope that the promise of revealing a new side of Wally's character might mean that in the series finale Wally will finally become The Flash. (The opinion that Wally West makes for a much better Flash than Barry Allen and should inherit the mantle is not exactly uncommon.)
However, there also are fears that Wally will only get an inconsequential side role. There is also some hype about the return of Bloodwork, who was one of the more memorable villains of the previous seasons. John Diggle seems to be the least notable of the three returning characters. Fans don't seem to share the Eric Wallace's sentiments regarding his importance.
We shall see how the final season of The Flash lives up to fan expectations soon enough.