SWAT Season 7 was set to be the last. We got some goodbye moments, with one of those being with Luca. However, CBS opted to U-turn on the final season order and granted SWAT an eighth season. Does that change things for the goodbyes?
Luca was forced to retire. After being shot while not even on the job, he suffered an injury that he couldn’t fully recover from. He couldn’t rejoin SWAT, and he was forced into early retirement. It definitely wasn’t something that he wanted, but I felt like it was a great storyline at the time considering how we weren’t ready for SWAT to end either.
Now SWAT Season 8 is happening. Questions are whether we’ll get to see everyone return despite Season 7 storylines. It’s not looking likely with Luca, just like it's not with Street.
Luca will remain retired in SWAT Season 8
It’s unlikely for Luca to make a return to the team in SWAT Season 8. He had to retire on medical grounds. This isn’t like Deacon making a choice to retire to be with his family. Luca can’t miraculously get better.
This doesn’t mean we can’t see him ever again, though. The way to get Luca back into the series for an episode here or there is to consult with the team. We’ve seen him run things from HQ before, and he is great at seeing things that others don’t. It would be possible to bring him in to help.
We also know that Rochelle Aytes is leaving the series as a series regular. This limits the amount that we’ll see of Hondo’s personal life with Nichelle. It could open up the possibility of seeing Hondo’s personal life with friends, bringing Luca into the story that way.
We likely won’t see him driving Black Betty, though, and that’s what we’ll miss the most in SWAT Season 8. Maybe he should come in to officially pass the keys onto someone he once trained.