Zach Gilford reveals if he'll return after unexpected 'Criminal Minds' Season 19 finale exit: ‘As far as…’
Zach Gilford will not return as Elias Voit in 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' Season 20, though the actor has not closed the door on another appearance later. Voit's four-season arc came to an end in the Season 19 finale, which began streaming on Paramount+ on Friday. The episode removed him from the BAU’s orbit without killing the character, leaving the writers a path to revisit him. For now, Gilford said his time on the show has come to an end. In the finale, James Crowley, also known as The Fan, kidnaps Voit’s daughter, Holly, and lures him into escaping prison. Voit tracks them down and tries to save her, but Crowley gains control of the fight and begins strangling him. Holly returns and kills Crowley by stabbing him, then Voit claims responsibility to protect her. Rossi knows Voit did not kill Crowley but supports his account when FBI Director Ray Madison questions the team.
Voit is transferred from FCI Butner to an undisclosed high-security federal prison to serve the rest of his 64 consecutive life sentences. Gilford confirmed his absence from Season 20 in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I'm not in Season 20," he said. “As far as I know, yes, that’s it.” He gave a similar answer to TVLine, saying, “I’m done, definitely for now, sadly, I think for the BAU it means they’re not gonna solve any crimes.” Gilford also said he had wanted Voit’s story to end with the character’s death. “I wanted him to be killed!” he told EW, explaining that he had discussed the option with the writers.
He believed dying while protecting Holly would have completed Voit’s sacrifice, but he also understood why keeping him alive carried another consequence.“That would’ve exonerated him, essentially. So he still has to live with everything he’s done,” Gilford said. Voit first appeared when 'Criminal Minds' returned on Paramount+ in 2022 and was initially planned as a one-season character. The show kept him alive, and later used his amnesia to force him to face the crimes he had committed. According to Gilford, Season 19 presented Voit as someone trying to limit the effects of his past rather than secure forgiveness. His decision to take the blame for Crowley’s death also brought the character back to the conflict between his crimes and his role as a father. Because Voit remains alive, the series has left open the possibility of bringing him back in a future storyline.
Gilford said he would come back if the show asked him, adding, “I know they like to bring people back randomly, and if they ever asked me, I would happily show back up.” There is no announced plan for another appearance. 'Criminal Minds: Evolution' Season 20 is currently in production, and Gilford has confirmed he is not part of it. Furthermore, the finale leaves Voit confined in federal prison rather than dead. That gives the series a way to bring him back if a later storyline calls for it, but Gilford’s comments make clear that no return is set. All seasons of 'Criminal Minds' are available to stream on Paramount+.
