Supergirl is about to lose an original castmember. Mehcad Brooks, who has played James Olsen since the start of the series, will depart the show in the first half of its upcoming fifth season.
The news broke during San Diego Comic-Con and Brooks got very emotional when the subject came up during the Supergirl panel and said it was an honor to play the character and that he’ll miss some of the best people he has ever worked with.
It appears Brooks is leaving on his own terms to focus on feature films and a potential cable show. The show producers left the door open for a cameo down the road in their statement announcing his departure:
“We love Mehcad and we’re sad to see him leave the show as as a series regular, but we’re excited for both Mehcad and James Olsen’s future. He’ll always be a part of our Supergirl family and we look forward to James returning to National City at some point to visit his sister and his super friends.”
Brooks put a fresh new spin on the Olsen character, who is Superman’s best friend and the ex-boyfriend of Kara Danvers, aka Supergirl. He worked as a photojournalist at the Daily Planet, then moved on to become the art director at CatCo Worldwide Media in National City, rising to CEO of that company. Olsen even eventually became a superhero himself on the show taking on the vigilante role of Guardian. To just see the love the cast has for the actor, check out this pic from the Supergirl panel once the subject of his departure was addressed below.
