Chicago Fire fans are dreading OG star Joe Miñoso’s exit ahead of the milestone 300th episode next month — but will he be back?
Showrunner Victor Teran exclusively told Us that “there’s always that possibility” Miñoso, 48, will return as Joe Cruz following his Wednesday, November 4, goodbye after the beloved firefighter’s career-ending injury earlier this season. (The episode will also mark the show’s 300th.)
“Joe is really not just a beloved member of the 51 family, he’s a beloved member of the Chicago Fire and the [Dick] Wolf world,” Teran shared, hinting that Miñoso’s departure isn’t finite.
He teased, “We’re not done telling stories about Joe Cruz for sure. So I don’t know exactly when we’ll come back, but he’ll come back eventually.”
The showrunner explained that Miñoso has “had his eye on” directing “for a long time” after working on “really wonderful” shorts, so fans will get to see that side of the actor following his exit.
“He’s going to direct an episode for us this season,” Teran told Us. “So he’s going to be firmly in the family.”
News broke in July that Miñoso is leaving Chicago Fire mid-season after starring on the NBC series for 14 years.
Miñoso has played Cruz since the show’s 2012 premiere. Cruz began as a firefighter on Truck 81 before working his way onto Squad 3’s rig under the command of Captain Kelly Severide (Taylor Kinney).
During the season 15 premiere, which aired on October 7, fans learned that during a warehouse fire, Cruz was injured while trying to save people wrapped behind a brick wall. The firefighter was temporarily paralyzed and in a wheelchair.
Cruz’s hopes of a full recovery appeared to be dashed during the final moments of the episode.
“They got the MRI results. There’s, like, a sliver of healthy tissue across the fracture,” Cruz told pal Christopher Herrmann (David Eigenberg) after he returned home to his family. “Even if I get out of this chair at some point, I’m never going to be a firefighter again.”
During the October 14 episode, Cruz wasn’t seen on screen, but Severide said he was at physical therapy. It was unclear whether Cruz has told his captain the severity of his injuries, but Teran told Us that the aftermath of the accident and Cruz’s absence will be felt “the rest of the season.”
“Cruz is obviously the most affected by it in the sense that we’re not going to tell the story through its effects on everybody else. We’re going to tell it through Cruz’s eyes and [then] everybody,” Teran explained. “In terms of the long tail of this event and who it’ll affect in our world going forward in the deepest and longest-lasting way, I would say it’s Severide. He made some choices based on it, and he will be struggling with that probably through the whole season.”
The boss teased that when Cruz finally does face his reality head-on, it will mean there’s an opening for Squad 3 — and more changes for Firehouse 51.
“It’ll be cool and surprising,” Teran told Us of what’s to come with that new vacancy.
Viewers, meanwhile, will have a few more weeks to prepare for Miñoso’s exit, which will come during the franchise’s 300th episode on November 4.
“We always knew that saying goodbye to a beloved character like Joe Cruz was going to be emotional,” Teran told Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday, October 21. “But change is part of life in any firehouse, so rather than shy away from that, we decided to lean into it and let those feelings drive a beautiful and complex story about family and friendship.”
He added, “Joe Miñoso more than rose to the challenge and delivered a performance for the ages, which, by design, culminates in our 300th episode. Because we couldn’t think of a better way to honor the milestone than by making ‘300’ a love letter to our dear friend and brother, Joe.”
Chicago Fire airs on NBC Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.
