The Season 3 finale of Will Trent left fans on a big cliffhanger: What is happening with Michael Ormewood’s (Jake McLaughlin) brain tumor, and why did he suddenly collapse?
TV Insider caught up with the actor at Disney’s Upfronts presentation and red carpet on Tuesday (May 13) and asked him just that.
“I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t. They won’t tell me what’s happening next season,” McLaughlin admitted before offering his own theory. “I think [Michael will] be okay-ish… but like I said, we just ended the season, so I don’t know what my destiny is going to be, what’s in store for me … maybe the road to recovery, maybe not. I don’t know.”
McLaughlin did say that he wasn’t taken too off guard by what happened in the finale, explaining, “Liz [Heldens, coshowrunner of the series] had told me quite a few episodes prior what the kind of broad strokes were going to be. So I knew that I was going to end up having a tumor in the show. I didn’t know the extent of it or how late in the season it was going to come with that scene, [but] I think I had been forewarned. So it didn’t come as a huge shock to me when I read it because I already knew that that was going to be the case.”
The finale wasn’t just about Michael’s health concerns, of course. The episode saw him stepping up to defend himself, Faith (Iantha Richardson), a group of teen archers, and, of course, the precious supply of anti-toxins that could save all of Atlanta from a group of domestic terrorists intent on using a bioattack to destroy the city. When surrounded by armed assailants on a remote road, Michael used his military combat skills to save the group, and McLaughlin relished the opportunity to go full action hero for the scene.
“That was a lot of fun,” McLaughlin said of the sprawling action sequence. “I think we shot that scene … for three days, and it was just taking it segment by segment. And then there’s obviously little logistical issues where you have to kind of figure out the play-by-play with how it’s going to work out logistically with where you’re going to move to and do all of that stuff. And it ended up coming together really, really well. That’s my wheelhouse. That’s the fun stuff for me. I’ll do that all day.”
Another aspect of Season 3 that McLaughlin enjoyed playing to was the strengthened relationship Michael had with his two children, Max (Owen Trumbly) and Cooper (Jophielle Love), after his contentious divorce.
“I love the kids. They’re great,” McLaughlin said of spending more time with his character’s brood. “Owen’s fantastic. He had a really big, nice monologue for the Shakespeare stuff that was really fun. I think he was a little nervous about it, but it’s such a relaxed set that we have such a good time, that everyone just feels kind of just super comfortable… It’s just been a neat little onion layer to peel back and see Ormewood with a softer side with his kids and see what comes back to navigating that course, parenthood that he hasn’t really been putting all of his focus on in the past, so it’s nice.”
Hopefully, for Michael and the kids, the dizzy spell is a false alarm.
(For what it’s worth, co-creator Daniel T. Thomsen told TV Insider a bit of their plans for Michael’s future after the events of the finale, explaining, “One of the things that I think was really kind of cool is we turned Ormewood into an action hero in this episode, which is kind of like showing [him] at his best. It’s like he’s always thinking, he is incredibly physical, he is brave and willing to throw himself into danger and sacrifice himself. He’s a soldier. And then at the very end, all of that gets thrown into question. And I think that what we’re excited about going forward is if all the stuff that we just saw as Ormewood’s brightest moments goes away, or it changes in some way, how does he react to that? What does he discover about himself that can be new, that can make him feel special going forward?”)
Will Trent, Season 4, 2026, ABC
– Reporting by Meredith Jacobs and Meaghan Darwish