The Flash Season 9 Will Bring The Series To An End

The CW's longest-running drama is coming to an end. "The Flash" will conclude with its upcoming ninth season, The Wrap reports. The series about super-speedy hero Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) just concluded its eighth season in June, and is set to wrap up with just 13 more episodes.

The DC Comics-inspired series was one of just a handful of The CW shows that wasn't axed this past spring, when the network announced the cancellation of seven different scripted series in one day. Among those were three DC shows: newbie "Naomi," Ruby Rose-led "Batwoman," and "Legends of Tomorrow," which was another long-running superhero season with seven seasons under its belt. With "Supergirl," "Black Lightning," and "Arrow" all wrapped up as well, the end of "The Flash" seems to mark the end of the extended universe known as the Arrowverse as fans know it.

The news may not come as a huge shock to fans, as showrunner Eric Wallace has been open about the fact that the show already had a planned ending -– last season. "When we were writing the finale for Season 8, we thought that was the series finale," Wallace told TVLine, referencing an episode that saw Tom Cavanagh's Thawne face off against Barry Allen and his team. He explained:

"We were like, 'We've got to have the greatest, most epic battle ever between Grant and Tom! That's how it has to end.' And after the script was done and we were getting ready to start prep, that's when we got the news that we would be getting a ninth season. So we were like, 'Oh crap, we just did the ultimate battle. How are we supposed to ever top that?'"

While it'll be a while until audiences find out exactly how the series' writers plan to top the events of "Negative," the ninth and final season will be expected to provide some closure for the show's metahuman ensemble. The season finale ended with a few cliffhangers, giving Cecile (Danielle Nicolet) the power of telekenisis and dropping in a reference to a future problem brewing in 2049.

In a statement shared by The Wrap today, Wallace thanked the show's "phenomenal cast, writers, producers, and crew over the years who helped make 'The Flash' such an unforgettable experience for audiences around the world" over the past nine years. The final season of "The Flash" will go into production next month, with Deadline reporting that it may arrive in time for a mid-season premiere.