‘Power’ Star Omari Hardwick Compares His Alternate Ending Idea to ‘Romeo and Juliet’: ‘Romeo and Julio’
Omari Hardwick’s alternate ending idea for Power concludes on a much darker note. The series wrapped in 2020 after six seasons and saw his character James “Ghost” St. Patrick lose his life at the hands of his son, Tariq, due to his lies and betrayal. While Hardwick’s idea also involved Ghost’s death, he wanted it to happen in a Romeo and Juliet style tragedy with his right-hand Tommy Egan.
Omari Hardwick revealed his idea for the ‘Power’ ending
Hardwick shared his idea on the podcast People’s Party With Talib Kweli.
“At one point, I had, in my mind, created an ending [during the] summer going into [Power] Season 2,” he began. “… I had created this thought years into the future — whether we went five seasons, whether we went seven, 10, 11 — and it was catering more to the bromance of the show that made Power different than The Sopranos.”
“So the Ghost and Tommy relationship, I had actually curated this thought that they were the Romeo and Julio,” he continued. “I had made it where they were the ones who, in a very à la Denzel [Washington’s] character in Man on Fire [where there was a] life for a life so that Dakota Fanning’s character could live. I had made it where Ghost has to save Tommy from something and Ghost dies and then Tommy can’t live without Ghost.”
He added that he didn’t necessarily believe Ghost needed to die, but he also knew that there were limited outcomes for someone like him.
Show creator Courtney Kemp explained why Tariq had to kill Ghost in the ‘Power’ ending
In the end, it was Tariq who killed Ghost. After finding his body, Tommy vowed revenge against Tariq. However, he ultimately decided to let him go in the spinoff series Power Book II: Ghost. The finale of Power left fans and critics divided, but show creator Courtney Kemp stands by those creative decisions.
“I felt like Tariq was the only person who could have gotten close enough [to kill Ghost] … because Ghost did not understand what he had done, just as many times, your parents don’t understand what they have done to you….,” she told TVLine.
There were, however, several alternate endings featuring different characters pulling the trigger. Kemp said they were shot to prevent any possible leaks and teased that Tommy’s was her second-favorite.
“None of the actors knew who was going to [kill Ghost] at that time, so they were all giving 100 percent, because they didn’t know,” she explained.
Kemp had hoped to be able to release the deleted scenes from Power, but Starz would not allow it, she said on Instagram Live.
Will Omari Hardwick ever reprise his role?
Although the finale puts an end to Ghost’s story as we know it, the actor has said he’s open to returning to the role in ghost form.
“He really lives in a ghost space at this point, so now that we know he’s not on Earth, there is a reality where you can have flashbacks or [something else],” he said on the podcast Higher Learning With Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay.
“I would come back but 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. OK, Ghost is in Tommy’s head, but is he really there? You know, just leaving that mystique. But I’d always be open. [Power] changed my life,” he concluded.
We’ll see what happens.
