When word got out that a fan-favorite would be dying on the Season Two finale of Nikita, one character came to mind: Owen! This along with a tweet Devon Sawa sent out a few months ago saying that he would no longer be returning to The CW action drama, definitely made fans worry that Owen would be the one that would join Thom and Jaden in Division heaven. Luckily, his name didn’t appear in the opening credits, so Owen was safe.
This past summer, Owen fans got their wish when producers promoted Devon Sawa to series regular for Season Three. We spoke to the cast and Executive Producer during the San Diego Comic Con to get their reaction on the news.
“We were completely baffled and so was he,” Shane West told us. “Owen is a very integral part of the show and there’s no one else like him. It’s going to be perfect help for Team Nikita. We had added Ryan (Noah Bean) at the end of the year, so now we have quite a group.”
Leading lady Maggie Q was thrilled for the new addition and says he’s a big asset for the team. “One of the first things I said was, ‘When are we going to get Owen back? We need Owen,'” said Maggie. “Because it’s his specialty and he’s one of the guys who tracks these guys down. He’s also one of the few guys who’s capable of handling these guys once we find them. Owen brings a much more hardcore action edge to what we’re doing and someone that they really need to find The Dirty Thirty. Owen’s really essential for this season and so is Ryan Fletcher so I’m glad that they’re season regulars. Super exciting!”
Creator and Executive Producer Craig Silverstein revealed that though it took three seasons to give Sawa the promotion, making him a regular was something that he’s always wanted to do. “I just had to be sure that there was enough of a place for him because the last thing I would want to do is have him sitting around doing nothing,” Silverstein said. “In Owen episodes, they always maximize the character. He comes in, he’s got something that he wants to have done. He’s so cool because he doesn’t sit there saying, ‘Tell me what to do.’ We want to figure out a way to maintain that and I think we’ve done it now.”
Along with Owen’s return comes a lot of questions. What happened to him? Where was he? Why wasn’t he in the last part of last season? Silverstein assures us, “We’re going to answer that.”