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Chicago PD: What happened to Scott Eastwood’s character?

By Danilo Castro

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 11: WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on February 11, Scott Eastwood from the cast of 'I Want You Back' poses for an exclusive IMDb portrait session at Quixote Studios West Hollywood in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb)
WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 11: WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA: In this image released on February 11, Scott Eastwood from the cast of 'I Want You Back' poses for an exclusive IMDb portrait session at Quixote Studios West Hollywood in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for IMDb) /
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There’s a world where Scott Eastwood has spent the last decade on Chicago PD. The actor was cast as Officer Jim Barnes back in 2013, and the character debuted alongside Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) during PD‘s backdoor pilot, but within a few episodes, he was gone. Nowhere to be found or even mentioned by his peers. What happened?

Well, it’s a bit complicated. Eastwood, the son of Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood, made perfect sense as a cast member on PD, but his career has skewed more towards films in the last decade. Let’s discuss why this split happened, and whether there’s any chance of seeing Officer Barnes pop up on the current iteration of the show.

Who did Scott Eastwood play on Chicago PD?

Officer Barnes appeared on two episodes of Chicago Fire and two episodes of Chicago PD. He was part of a group of characters who were intended to make up the ensemble of the latter, once it all got going. The other characters included Officer Nicole Sermons (Tania Raymonde), Officer Elam Smith (Kelly Blatz) and Detective Julia Willhite (Melissa Sagemiller).

Obviously, none of these characters made it far. While the specific reasons for each of their exits is unclear, Outsider states that Eastwood left because of “creative differences.” Barnes was going to be the right-hand man for Voight throughout the show, but when Eastwood left, he was replaced by the character of Jay Halstead, who was played by Jesse Lee Soffer.

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While the outcome certainly panned out for PD fans, it is interesting to consider what the show would have looked like with Eastwood at the center, instead of Soffer. Eastwood has done just fine for himself since leaving, as he’s gone on to appear in blockbuster films like Suicide Squad (2016), The Fate of the Furious (2017) and Fast X (2023).

He’s also slated to appear in the upcoming film Tin Soldier opposite Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, so our guess is that he won’t have time to reprise his Barnes character on PD season 11.

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