Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn in 2018, Hartley was quickly terminated from The CW superhero series (although Gunn was rehired a year later).
Sawyer ed The Flash in season 4 and he became a highlight of the series. Originally Barry Allen's (Grant Gustin) rival, Dibny was introduced as a slovenly private detective who gained metahuman powers after the STAR Labs particle accelerator explosion. As he gradually mastered his stretching abilities, Ralph ed Team Flash and was mentored by Barry as to how to be a superhero. Originally dubbed by the media as "Stretchy Man", Ralph finally took Sue Dearbon (Natalie Dreyfuss), who is destined to become Mrs. Ralph Dibny since the couple is married in DC Comics.
The Flash: Why Ralph Dibny's Hartley Sawyer Was Fired
Hartley Sawyer's firing and the surrounding circumstances are truly unfortunate, plus they create a big creative problem for The Flash season 7 since they weren't able to complete season 6 due to the coronavirus pandemic shutting down film and TV production worldwide. Ralph Dibny's storyline with Sue Dearbon was a major, fan-favorite component of The Flash season 6 and it remains unresolved. Dropping the Ralph Dibny character outright, which would also mean losing his popular storyline with Sue at the tail end of the unfinished season 6, would only add to The Flash's creative issues even before season 7 production gets underway.
The question now is what happens to the Ralph Dibny character? Whatever The Flash's producers ultimately decide to do, working in a new character to replace Elongated Man in the same way Batwoman's is introducing a new heroine instead of recasting Kate Kane in the wake of Ruby Rose's exit would be a mistake. Losing Hartley Sawyer, who had undeniable chemistry with all of the other Flash actors, especially Natalie Dreyfuss, is bad enough, but writing Ralph out would leave a big hole in The Flash. While The Flash can certainly survive without Elongated Man, just erasing Ralph from the series (and likely Sue along with him), would be a gigantic waste.
However, Ralph can't just be replaced with a brand new character (or even by DC's other stretchy superhero, Plastic Man) either. Unlike what Batwoman plans to do by introducing a new caped crusader, which will bring a ton of creative challenges to the Gotham-based series, it makes no sense to insert an all-new character in Ralph's place on The Flash. A different character who suddenly ignites a romance with Sue, if she even remains on The Flash now, would be a very hard sell for fans who quickly became invested in one of DC Comics' most enduring romances. Team Flash, which is already going through changes in season 7, also doesn't need a totally different hero who can stretch. What's more, Ralph Dibny's arc of redemption where he has become a better man and a true-blue superhero has been one of the best macro stories of The Flash's last few seasons and it would be a shame to just wipe it all away.
While Sawyer's firing from The Flash is very disappointing on several levels, simply replacing him with a new actor as Ralph Dibny is the best possible solution going forward. After all, Ralph isn't The Flash's lead superhero so the burden of carrying the series doesn't fall on Elongated Man's shoulders. It will be a challenge to find a new actor who can embody all of the qualities Hartley Sawyer brought to Ralph Dibny but it would be better all-around to find someone else to play Elongated Man than make a radical and even more disruptive change to The Flash.