Power Book IV: Force concluded this week with its series finale.
While the ending of Force was divisive among the fanbase, there are stories that were left open to explore. Those include the possibility of Vic and Jenard teaming up, Mireya leaving to go to her family so she can raise her and Tommy’s child, and the current political state in Chicago.
The big one is the rumored Power: Legacy spinoff between Tommy Egan and Tariq St. Patrick. Force’s series finale had the return of Tariq as he helped Tommy, and even had a conversation with D-Mac about their fathers. Back at PaleyFest, Joseph Sikora and showrunner Gary Lennon exclusively told The Knockturnal that they filmed multiple endings of the series finale. While the two did not specify the content of what was filmed, the entire story was always going to lead up to Tommy and Tariq reuniting.
“It’s always been the same idea of the story. There were ideas of how to set stuff up just to throw [people for a loop], to make sure stuff didn’t necessarily get leaked,” said Sikora. “But the outcome was always going to be Tariq showing up.”
“We talked about filming a couple of different endings because we didn’t want anyone to know exactly what was going on. And so there were a couple of different endings discussed so that we could throw people off the hint or the smell of what really we were going to do,” said Lennon.
Joseph Sikora acknowledged how difficult it is to land an ending that truly resonates with fans. Sikora added that concluding any chapter of the Power universe is especially challenging because the goal is to satisfy the audience without giving too much away. The finale needed to be unpredictable but not confusing, exciting yet still grounded within the established world of the show. Sikora praised writers and director Robert Townsend for doing an incredible job, calling the finale expertly calibrated.
“I think Robert Townsend did an amazing job directing this, keeping everybody in the same episode, the same show, and challenging everybody to do their absolute best,” said Sikora. “And I think that everybody delivered in terms of performance and the writing and the symbiosis between the two was palpable.”
From a showrunner’s perspective, Gary Lennon said one of the most exciting parts of the process is seeing words on a page transform into a finished scene. What begins as black and white text becomes something alive through collaboration with the cast and crew. Lennon also revealed that some of the finale’s most impactful choices came together late in the process. He explained that the decision to use 50 Cent’s original Power theme at the end of the scene wasn’t planned until they were deep in the editing room. After watching the sequence repeatedly and sensing that something was missing, Lennon suggested trying the song, a choice that ultimately helped the moment fully click.
“To actually see Joseph and Michael Rainey Jr. on the roof looking at each other, they have their own personal history, the characters have their own personal history, and I think all of that reads into their performances,” said Lennon. For me, along with Robert’s direction as well, it was a well-written scene, and then they really elevated and made it magic, because to me, that last moment is magic.”
The next time Tommy Egan will grace the screen will be on Power: Origins. This time, it will be his younger self, who will be portrayed by Charlie Mann. Origins is going to be set some time between the late 1990’s to the early 2000’s as this chapter in the Power Universe will showcase the rise of Ghost and Tommy.
Joseph Sikora told us he has not spoken with Charlie yet, but he is really looking forward to it. He has heard great things and has been told that Charlie is putting in 110% effort. He believes Sascha Penn is going to come up with some fun, exciting material. Sikora is a big fan of Raising Kanan and also directed the third episode of season five. He can’t wait to see what they come up with for Tommy’s journey.
“I know that Sacha will be very detail oriented and that he will honor the history that we’ve already established in the original Power show and Power Book IV: Force,” said Sikora.