Is Ghost Coming Back to ‘Power’? Here Is What We Know?

Courtney Kemp, who co-produced Power, described Tariq shooting Ghost in the finale of the show’s sixth season as “the saddest ending of a television show ever.” Despite the network insisting that Ghost was really dead, Omari Hardwick, who portrays the character, told Associated Press on May 12, 2023, that the network had asked him to reprise the role. His interview has left many Power fans wondering whether Ghost is coming back to Power.

Starz hasn’t given any official confirmation regarding Omari Harwick’s return to the network, but the network hasn’t written off the possibility either. A younger version of Ghost is expected to appear in Power Book II: Raising Kanan, which has been renewed for a fourth season. As for Omari Hardwick’s return to the role in either of the two sequels or a whole new spinoff, it remains to be seen.

Power fans can’t understand why the creators had to make Ghost’s death so dark. Dying in his best friend’s arms after being shot in the chest by his own son is an ending that no one saw coming. Many of Omari Harwick’s costars, including Shane Johnson, have hinted at the Ghost’s return since the finale of Power. It is still important to know what Hardwick will do if Starz agrees to his conditions for returning to the hit franchise, so let’s delve into it.

Who is Ghost in Power?

James “Ghost” St. Patrick was born in Queens, New York, where he and his friend Tommy Egan were forced to sell drugs at the corners for Kanan and Breeze to survive.

He devised a plan to expand the business, but Breeze refused, so he partnered with Tommy and Kanan to kill Breeze, effectively making Kanan the boss.

While running the streets for Kanan, James met and married Tasha, signing a prenup with the agreement to have three children.

Tasha and James had three children: eldest son Tariq and daughters Raina and Yasmine.

Despite being like a father to James, Kanan impedes his ambition to grow their business beyond the streets, so Tasha tells him to kill Kanan, but James chooses to frame him to get him sent to prison instead.

After becoming the boss, James expanded the business and started his nightclub called Truth, planning to use it as his path to becoming a legit businessman and leaving the narcotics business.

His marriage with Tasha started falling apart when he started an affair with his high-school sweetheart Angela.

Things worsened when his former boss, Kanan, was released from prison and got close to his son Tariq, turning him against James.

Despite his world crumbling around him, Ghost tried to maintain the image of a clean businessman.

He managed to eliminate his enemies, including Kanan, and even go into politics as he tried to become the deputy lieutenant governor.

Just as everything seemed to fall in place for the drug dealer turned businessman and politician, his now estranged son Tariq confronted and killed him.

Ghost is portrayed by the American actor whose amazing performance in the show won multiple awards, including the BET Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series.

Why did Tariq kill Ghost in Power?

The family started falling apart when Tasha kicked James out of their house for cheating on her with his high-school girlfriend.

Tariq descended into a rebellious stage in his teenage years and hated his father because he felt James was hurting his mother.

The animosity between James and Tariq was fueled by James’ nemesis Kanan who infiltrated Tariq’a life after getting out of prison and introduced him to drug dealing while also turning him against his father.

Things turned dark after Tariq’s sister Raina was killed by Tariq’s involvement with a dirty police officer called Ray Ray.

Ghost heaped all the blame on Tariq, who in turn totally disowned his father and constantly started being combative towards him.

The gap between Tasha and James grew even further when James killed Tasha’s lover Terry.

Tariq saw an altercation between Ghost and Tasha and blamed his father for hurting his mother.

At the end of the sixth season, he finally accused Ghost of destroying their family and shot him in the chest.

Before dying in Tommy’s hands, Ghost gestured to Tommy not to shoot his son despite what he had done.

Is Ghost really dead?

Despite speculation that Ghost could have survived the bullet to his chest, the official position at Starz is that Ghost is dead.

“I don’t think you’re alone in that hope. But…Ghost died.” Kathryn Busby, the president of Original Programming at Starz, told a journalist in an interview.

Omari Hardwick’s costar Lerenz Tate, who plays Tate Rashad, also supported her comments.

“He could return in some capacity. I think anything is possible. But my hunch is that you know, he’s, he’s gone.” Tate said.

Many fans have theories suggesting that Tariq and his father could have hatched a plan to finally help Ghost escape the murky world of drugs.

The idea that Ghost could have been shot with fake bullets and is alive since he never took his last breath on camera still exists despite being rubbished by most people in the Power Cast.

During his interview with Pivot, Omari Harwick also insisted that his character is really dead in Power and that most fan theories are incorrect.

Omari Hardwick also insisted that he had a different idea of how Ghost’s story should have ended in Power.

Hardwick said he shared with Courtney Kemp a plan for Ghost to die in the seventh season of Power in some form of poetic justice that would see him die to save Tommy’s life.

Is Omari Hardwick coming back to Power?

Despite insisting that his character is dead, Omari Hardwick has never denied the possibility of his character returning to Power.

“I would come back perhaps in a spinoff just in a space to give leverage to the show to go, OK, Ghost is speaking to Tariq, but we know he’s not actually there…” he replied while addressing the issue of Ghost’s return to Power.

Omari’s return speculations were further increased when he said Starz had contacted him requesting his return to Power multiple times since his exit.

His comments came during his interview with AP on May 12, 2023, while he was launching his 2023 movie The Mother.

He said that he had given the network some conditions they would have to adhere to for him to return, one of which included a well-written script for Ghost.

His return may include flashbacks or simply a haunting as Ghost plays out in the minds of Tommy, Tariq, or Tasha.

It is unlikely that Hardwick will portray the younger version of Ghost in Power Book III: Raising Kanan, though.