Chicago Fire star gives disappointing update on the status of Boden’s return

When Eamonn Walker’s exit from Chicago Fire after 12 seasons as a series regular was announced, the one thing that lessened the blow of losing yet another original cast member was the promise of Boden returning in a recurring status. 

Every report that came out about his exit hinted that we’d get to see Walker popping in from time to time in the show’s thirteenth season; however, we’re now closing in on the halfway point in the season without a single appearance from Boden at all. And, sadly, it sounds like we might not get an appearance from Boden anytime in the near future. 

During a recent interview with TV Insider, David Eigenberg opened up about the prospect of Boden returning and, unfortunately, it doesn’t appear there are any current plans in place for Walker to make a return. 

“I have been told that it will be [possible for Boden to return], but I don’t know that because it hasn’t been in an actual stack of papers that I’ve read yet. I want it to happen badly as soon as possible. I want him back here with us and we just have to wait and see,” Eigenberg revealed. 

The comments seem to suggest that Boden’s return is not coming in any of the upcoming episodes and that we’re most likely going to have to wait until 2025 to see Walker return to NBC’s hit drama, which makes sense given the fall finale is coming on Nov. 20 and there was no hint of Boden appearing in the episode. 

Honestly, the timing of Eigenberg’s interview coincides with TVLine’s latest Inside Line confirming that Walker has yet to book his first return visit to the show following his exit as a series regular. It’s a shame too as it feels like we were promised that Walker would remain a part of the show in a more limited capacity via a recurring role only for Boden to go MIA entirely with only mentions of the character in the show’s current season. 

We can only hope that the writers will find a way to bring Boden back into the mix soon as it’s been far too long without an appearance, and we’d love to know how Boden is doing in his new position. Who knows though, maybe his return will come with the three-show One Chicago crossover being worked on for 2025 which promises to see the city of Chicago rocked by a powerful explosion. 

An event of that magnitude would seem to bring out the top brass and with Boden now the CFD’s Deputy Commissioner, one would imagine Boden would be one of the first calls made to help with the relief efforts. Plus, it would be quite exciting to see Boden’s return come in the crossover event and give fans another reason to be excited for the first One Chicago crossover in five years!

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC and streaming on Peacock!