“Criminal Minds” Star Josh Stewart Exits Series: 'My Days of Playing Will LaMontagne Jr. Are Over'
The first season of 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' saw Josh's character have a cancer scare — and the showrunner says he's "not out of the woods" yet
Josh Stewart won’t be returning to Criminal Minds: Evolution.
In response to a fan who inquired on X (formerly Twitter) about his character’s fate, the actor said: “No sadly, my days of playing Will LaMontagne Jr. are over.”
“You guys have been the absolute best,” he added.
Related: 'Criminal Minds' Cast: Where Are They Now?
Stewart, 46, first stepped into Will’s shoes for season 2 of the original Criminal Minds series. He’s been a somewhat constant face on the show ever since, appearing seasonally until a romance blossomed between his and A.J. Cook’s character Special Agent JJ Jareau.
The pair got married during the show's seventh season.
With Criminal Minds: Evolution now airing, Will and JJ’s marriage continues to be a highlight of the series. Season 1 of Evolution brought terrible news to the couple, though, when Will told his wife he had been diagnosed with cancer. The plot was inspired by Cook’s real-life marriage, written from a cancer scare her husband had.
“It’s based on a true-life illness that we wanted to honor,” Criminal Minds: Evolution showrunner Erica Messer told TVLine. “We wanted to plant that seed now.”
The conclusion of the cancer storyline saw Will treated for a thyroid problem, and Messer teased, “next [season], hopefully, he’s going to be OK.” She added, “he’s not necessarily out of the woods forever.”
It remains unclear if Stewart’s character was written out of season 2 intentionally, or if he decided to step away from the show. PEOPLE has reached out to Paramount+ for comment.
Criminal Minds: Evolution first debuted in 2022. Joe Mantegna (Dave), Paget Brewster (Emily Prentiss), Kirsten Vangsness (Garcia), Aisha Tyler (Tara) and Adam Rodriguez (Luke) all returned for the series.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Criminal Minds: Evolution is now streaming on Paramount+, and episodes from the original Criminal Minds series can be found on Hulu.
For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!
Read the original article on People.