Aldis Hodge reprises his role as hacker Alec Hardison in Leverage's revival, Leverage: Redemption, but Hardison left the team early in the season - why? The revival picks up nearly a decade after the original series ended as the crew gets back together to pull a few more cons. Despite his importance to the team, Hardison only appears in the first two episodes, a surprising absence for the audience-favorite character.
Since Leverage ended and Nate and Sophie retired, Hardison, Parker, and Eliot have been running Leverage International, expanding the team's mission of fleecing the rich and powerful on a global scale. Sophie then comes out of retirement for Leverage: Redemption after the death of Timothy Hutton's Nate. Parker and Eliot return to the old team with her, but Hardison finds himself indispensable to their international work. After only one con, Hardison resumes traveling around the world, and his foster sister Breanna Casey steps into his shoes as the main hacker on the crew.
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As it turns out, Hardison had to be written off the show early on because of the demands of Aldis Hodge's increasingly busy schedule. When Hodge first starred in Leverage, he was still early in his career, taking on the role at the age of 20. Since the show ended, Hodge has appeared in a string of projects and his career has only grown. On television, he starred in Underground and TURN: Washington's Spies, while he has also had major roles in the movies Hidden Figures, One Night in Miami, and box office hit The Invisible Man.
Since Hodge's performance in his beloved role on Leverage: Redemption, he also has a starring role as DeCourcy Ward in City on a Hill and his biggest role to date playing Justice Society of America member Carter Hall, a.k.a. Hawkman in Dwayne Johnson's upcoming DCEU movie Black Adam. Hodge's busy schedule did not allow for him to return to Leverage full-time, but Hardison may soon make another appearance. While the first eight episodes of the season were released in July, the second half of the season was released in October 2021. As Hodge was announced as a series regular in the revival (depending on availability), it's likely Hardison will come back into play in later seasons.
Audiences haven't seen the last of Hardison, and the revival has left the door open for Aldis Hodge to return any time his packed schedule allows. After Black Adam premieres, Hodge doesn't appear to have anything major on his calendar, so he may have more time to shoot a few more episodes depending on the revival's shooting schedule. Throughout the season, Parker and Eliot commented on Hardison's activities in various countries as he stayed in constant contact with the team.
Though Aldis Hodge left Leverage: Redemption early on in season 1, that doesn't mean his character couldn't make a brief or even bigger return in season 2. Seeing as the hacker keeps in contact with the team despite not being on the show, showrunners could be keeping this connection open in order to bring the character back. The Leverage reboot was greenlit for a second season as the first installment pulled in decent enough ratings for Amazon service Freevee to push the series forward. While there's no full confirmation that Aldis Hodge's Alec Hardison will be rejoining the team, it's always possible that he could come back, and his return has been teased.
Sometimes, no news (or vague news) is good news, and the series producers might be keeping his full involvement under wraps in order to build up anticipation. After all, Hodge's schedule will be free and clear after Black Adam, so he could at least make a brief appearance on Leverage: Redemption. In addition, producer Dean Devlin has remarked that he's incredibly interested in keeping Alec Hardison around. In an interview with TV Insider, Devlin said regarding Hodge, "We'll take whatever we can get because every additional moment with him is worth it." So, while the Black Adam actor might've disappeared early in Leverage: Redemption season 1, it's plausible that he'll return for season 2.