It seems like the Chicago Fire set has been getting a lot of unexpected visitors recently, and that revolving door of surprise visitors includes yet another original cast member!
As revealed via a newly released behind-the-scenes photo drop from star Leroy S. Williams, Eamonn Walker recently dropped by the Chicago Fire set to catch up with his former co-stars.
In the newly released photo, Walker and Williams pose together on the set for a selfie during a recent taping of NBC’s hit drama. Williams is suited up in his CFD uniform, while Walker is wearing more casual attire, which seems to indicate this was just a personal visit rather than a professional one.
Little context is provided as to when exactly the photo was taken; however, it seems that Walker dropped by the set during filming of episode 15, which aired on March 18, as all of the photos from the Williams’ Instagram post are connected to episode 15.
Between Walker’s attire in the photo and the timing of when the photo was snapped, this does not seem to indicate Walker filmed any scenes. That would make sense, as if Walker was returning as Boden, it seems likely that NBC would either heavily promote his return to the show or would have looked to keep the return a secret to surprise the viewers. If that was the case, it seems unlikely anyone from the case would have then shared a photo of his set visit.
That’s not to say that a return for Walker is not out of the question, as he did reprise the role of Boden in season 13; it just seems unlikely that his appearance on the set is connected to a personal visit rather than a return to film new scenes.
Walker was a mainstay on Chicago Fire during the show’s first 12 seasons before stepping away in the season 12 finale when Boden was promoted to Deputy Commissioner. Following his exit at the end of season 12, it was hinted that we could see Walker back in season 13 in a recurring role; however, that proved not to be the case.
Following his exit, Boden did not appear on-screen in the series until the end of season 13, when he returned in episode 18, “Post-Mortem.” The episode saw Boden coming back to 51 in his newly minted status as Deputy Commissioner with the task of leading an investigation into a call that left one member of the firehouse in the hospital.
It was a tough call where everything that could go wrong did go wrong, which was the conclusion that Boden came to as well through his investigation. At the end of the day, Boden noted that 51 did everything right under the circumstances, and no one was to blame for Damon’s injury on the job, as there was nothing they could have done differently to change the results.
Boden has not been back on the show since that episode, and fans are certainly hoping to see the character back on their screens. With Pascal having just left the CFD, the timing could not be more perfect for the writers to bring Boden back into the mix, and a return feels perfectly timed with Severide now looking to become a captain so that he can oversee the day-to-day operations of 51.
We'd love to see Boden return to assist Severide in his journey and bestow some words of encouragement, and it would be truly special to see Boden drop in to check on the 51 team after being away for so long.