‘Lucifer’ Season 6: Dead Character Returning for Final Episodes

Lucifer Season 6 finished up filming not long before Season 5, Part 2 premiered on Netflix. Thanks to that, cast members and production members have dished on what fans will see in the Netflix dramedy’s final episodes. That list of reveals includes one dead character we now know will return — in some capacity — for Season 6. Spoilers ahead for Season 5 Part 2.

One of the show’s mainstays, Detective Dan Espinoza (played by Kevin Alejandro) died in the latest batch of episodes. The ex-husband of Chloe Decker (Lauren German) died as a casualty of the war between Lucifer Morningstar and his twin brother Michael (both played by Tom Ellis), and due to the guilt he feels about his past, he ends up in hell. While this was a huge gut-punch for the characters, viewers know that dying in Lucifer sends you to the afterlife, where our celestial characters can travel. Of course, flashbacks are also possible.

Alejandro confirmed he’s returning in some capacity, telling Entertainment Tonight, “It’s definitely not the last you’re going to see of Dan. It could be through flashbacks, it could be through trying to decide what’s going on.” He also said, “The thing with guilt is that there really is no one who can help you. You have to help you. I think a lot of what happens with Dan is really just lost introspectively within himself trying to figure out his own demons, so to speak, and why things happened to him the way they did because it happened so abruptly. That’s what you’ll find. You’ll find there is no help other than you helping yourself, basically.

“I was on set a little bit in season 6, so he’s definitely coming back, just not the way everyone thinks he’s coming back.” The 45-year-old actor, who has starred as Dan since the series premiere, also laid out how the Season 6 return plans formed via a chat with Entertainment Weekly. He thought his death was part of Lucifer’s final stretch, but Netflix soon ordered another batch of episodes. Showrunners Ildy Modrovich and Joe Henderson then worked out a way for him to return in the actual final season.

“So a couple of days before we even ended the season, it was like, ‘Hey, Netflix changed their mind. You’ve got one more season.’ I’m like, ‘What? We just killed me. What the heck?’” Alejandro recalled. “But you know, Joe and Ildy immediately approached me with, ‘Hey, it’s not the end, and it doesn’t have to be for you either, because we know how to do this in a respectful way that is not going to lower the quality of storytelling that we’ve already established in the beginning.’ And of course, I wanted to be there till the very end. We started this process in Vancouver, and we’re ending in L.A., and I want to be part of the whole thing. And luckily, they wanted me to be part of it as well. So we figured out a pretty interesting way to bring him back in some capacity.”

He added, “Season 5 was Dan’s [ending], really. That’s a journey. And like I said, he is back in some capacity, not the way you expect it, but he’s there. He’s part of the world.”

Lucifer Season 6 will premiere at some point soon on Netflix. All past episodes are currently available to stream on the platform, including Seasons 1-3 which originally aired on FOX. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for more updates on Lucifer’s final season.