Is Marcus Dante Leaving The Equalizer? What Happens to Tory Kittles' Character?
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The New York Police Department is down one detective… or are they? The Season 4 finale saw him take a job with NYPD’s Special Investigation Unit in Los Angeles, but is Marcus Dante leaving The Equalizer for good and what happens to Tory Kittles’ character now that he’s moved across the country (and left Robyn with a broken heart?) Read on for what we know about whether Dante is really leaving The Equalizer or if the Season 4 finale was a classic red herring.
Is Marcus Dante leaving The Equalizer?
No, Dante doesn’t seem to be leaving The Equalizer. In an interview with Screen Rant in May 2024, Tory Kittles, who has played Dante since Season 1, seemed to confirm his plans to return for The Equalizer Season 5, even though his character was no longer in New York City.
“We actually have talked about some things that we can get into. Joe Wilson, our showrunner, is such a great collaborator,” he said. “We have such great producers, starting with Queen Latifah and her team at Flavor Unit, and Debra Martin Chase, and everybody at CBS. We’re going to push the envelope, and we’re going to continue to open up the scope of the show. We realize that this is an international show, and we’re speaking to millions across the globe. We really want to continue to ride that wave and give audiences what they want. I look forward to that. I look forward to getting bigger and better and continuing to find the nuance in each of these characters.”
However, Dante may have a reduced role in The Equalizer Season 5 due to Kittles’ current job on Broadway. Two days before The Equalizer Season 4 finale, Kittles made his debut as Cephus Miles in the Broadway play Home in New York City. “Jumping into our first performance! HOME returns to Broadway tonight for the first time in 44 years 🏠,” Kittles, who plays the lead role in the play, captioned an Instagram post at the time.
The production runs from May 17 to July 21, 2024. It’s unclear when production on The Equalizer Season 5 starts, however, if it begins before the end of Kittles’ Broadway run, Dante may be missing from the first few episodes of the season, which would be easily explained by Dante’s new job.
Dante sparked speculation he was leaving The Equalizer in the season 4 finale, “The Big Take,” in which Dante is offered a position with the New York Police Department’s Special Investigation Unit in Los Angeles. During the finale, Captain Grace Watkins offers Dante the job in California after suspecting that took part in an investigation into a known police killer, even though she assigned that case to someone else and ordered Dante to stay at his desk. (Dante has been ignoring Captain Watkins’ orders for months now.)
Captain Watkins informs Dante that he doesn’t have a choice on whether or not to accept the offer. He either takes the job and moves to California or finds himself stuck to a desk for the rest of his police career. The ultimatum is to stop Dante from working with The Equalizer, also known as Robyn McCall, whom he’s had a romantic relationship with.
Dante mulls over the job offer. The pros are better hours and bette pay. However, the cons are that he would have to move to California, which would create issues with his shared joint custody with his wife, as well as his father who is hospitalized in a coma. (Not to mention that Dante would have to break up with Robyn.)
In the end, Dante accepts the job, which Robyn also encourages him to take. Robyn tells Dante that, with his new role, he could move into a governmental position once he’s retired from the task force, where he would be able to change policy. What Robyn doesn’t tell Dante, however, is how heartbroken she would be if he left. She doesn’t tell him her feelings for him until the end of the episode, but by then, it’s too late. Dante had already accepted the job and he was leaving the city to stop a ring of child predators.
The Equalizer is available to stream on Paramount Plus.
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