Joseph Sikora Discusses Tommy Egan's Future After Power Book IV Finale

[This story contains major spoilers from the series finale of Power Book IV: Force.] Power Book IV: Force just aired its series finale, but no one knows better than Joseph Sikora that Power never ends. Thirteen years ago, Sikora started work on Starz’s Power, a crime drama from creator Courtney A. Kemp and producer 50 Cent. While the series centered on the suave and intelligent drug distributor/club owner Ghost (Omari Hardwick), it was Ghost’s hot-tempered, street-wise partner Tommy Egan (Sikora), who quickly emerged as the fan favorite. Power eventually became a juggernaut for Starz, so much so that it has spawned four spinoffs and counting since wrapping its six-season run. Before his own show, Tommy appeared in season one of Power Book II: Ghost, confronting his nephew, Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.), over the killing of Ghost. With no fences mended, Tommy then headed for Chicago, marking the launch of Force in 2022. Tommy built a life and empire for himself in the Windy City, learning that he has a brother and nephew, and finding romance with Mireya (Carmela Zumbado), who is now carrying his child. But Tommy’s rise to the top of the Chicago drug game earned him plenty of enemies. Late in the third and final season, Tommy’s brother JP (Anthony Fleming) was killed by Jenard (Kris D. Lofton), and Tommy’s payback mission then resulted in the death of Diamond (Isaac Keys), Tommy’s former associate and Jenard’s brother. Released on Friday, the Force series finale, “Beginning of the End,” doesn’t settle all scores, leaving open the door for an unconfirmed spinoff that would continue Tommy’s story. But the war over Chicago’s streets is won by Tommy when the cartels come to a truce and Jenard loses his support. Surprisingly, Jenard is left alive, and he’s last seen being reunited with Vic (Shane Harper), as the unexpected bedfellows come together for one purpose: “Let’s take Tommy F***ing Egan down.” Mireya escapes the violence by running off to Mexico, telling Tommy to find their child when he’s ready. But Tommy has another family member back in his life when he calls Tariq for backup. This possibility was first teased in the post-credits scene of Ghost’s 2024 series finale. Once Tariq has helped Tommy rule Chicago, Force signs off with the Power OGs settling their past issues, as well as Tariq sharing a proposition. “The Uncle Tommy I know loves a f***ing challenge,” says Tariq, who wants him to return to New York so that they can be partners in crime. “You told me that, if you ain’t pushing, you’re falling…. I’m talking legacy.” Tommy is intrigued by the idea of his kid growing up on his streets. “Sounds beautiful, doesn’t it?” Tariq adds. “So whatchu say, we start some new shit or what?” Just then, the original Power theme song, “Big Rich Town” from 50 Cent and Joe, begins playing, and Tommy and Tariq both smile. While neither Starz nor Sikora will yet confirm, the final scene of Force only further fuels the reports of a new series from Force showrunner and Tommy whisperer Gary Lennon — Power: Legacy, which would follow Tommy and Tariq’s partnership. “If and where there is another chapter, what infrastructure will we have left,” Sikora teases, “if Gary Lennon is writing it, I want to play it. I think it could be so much fun to see something with Tommy and Tariq. There’s so much disaster, destruction and expansion that could happen with the relationship between those two.” Below in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Sikora breaks down the end of Force, suggests what could be next and explains why “being recognized by the culture” means more to him than anything. *** Here we are, once again, talking about a Power series finale. You’ve been A1 since day one, so I gotta give you some love. You and I talked before we started the season, and I told you that I wanted to know what you thought, because I’m so proud of this season. I think you guys did a great job ramping up in the last couple episodes. Episodes eight, nine and 10, it’s like, wow! One of my favorite things was the fight with Diamond, because Tommy tries to run away. He’s like, “Nah, fuck that, I’m not dying on this hill. I’ll come back.” Most times you see the hero/antihero has to have the upper-hand guy, and I was like, “No, not there.” If those guys didn’t save Tommy, he would have got his ass handed to him, and maybe even been beaten to death. We had a lot of these “wow” moments. I don’t think people saw Diamond’s death coming. You had warned me that people needed to die this season for the Power Universe to keep going, and you and Gary followed through on that promise with JP and Diamond being killed off in back-to-back episodes. It’s a brother for a brother, but not the brother we wanted, and not exactly how we saw it coming. And I think that is what Gary does beautifully. My boxing coach always used to say, “They don’t have to miss by much, but they have to miss.” I think Gary likes to do something that is just a little off from what people think is going to happen. It keeps you on your toes as an audience member. What were the conversations that you and Gary had about how you saw this all wrapping up? Gary was the best collaborator an actor could ever have, because he treated me like a storyteller. He told me every idea that he had. I was like, “Wait, Vic doesn’t die?” And he goes, “No, he’s the Whitey Bulger character. He’s actually working for the government but he’s still a criminal. So, it’s not unprecedented in the world, but when do you see that?” I didn’t see it coming, so I’m like, “That’s really good.” We had conversations about who died, when and why, and it was such an artistically collaborative season. I think that’s one of the reasons why it was our best. I kept looking at how much time was left in the episode, being like, “Vic and Jenard have to die soon, right?” What felt right about leaving them on the board as Tommy’s biggest adversaries, even though Force is now done? I feel like it leaves so much to the audience’s imagination to think about: how is that infrastructure gonna stand the test of time with two of these people gunning for what Tommy has set up? Even Tariq saying, “You’re the biggest distributor in Chicago now — why don’t you come back home?” And Tommy going, “Hmm.” If and where there is another chapter, what infrastructure will we have left? Like I keep saying, if Gary Lennon is writing it, I want to play it. I think that it could be so much fun to see something with Tommy and Tariq. But whether we see it onscreen or not, that’s the next chapter. Shane Harper and Kris D. Lofton were outstanding this season. I think the audience is going to be so mad that Vic and Jenard are alive. But emotion is emotion — it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, as long as you’re feeling something and I think they’re really gonna be feeling something at the end. Given the last Power Book II: Ghost scene, the Tommy and Tariq reunion seems like it was long in the works. What did you like about the idea when first presented it? It’s the hashtag of, “Power Never Ends.” Also, Tommy just can never give up family. Even though he previously said, “You’re not family anymore, because you did this and that,” Tommy’s kryptonite is his family. And if and when we see it, what’s gonna happen to Mireya and that baby? There’s as many answered questions as there are unanswered questions, and I think it’s like a great novel, in that it allows your imagination to think about what’s going to happen next. I’m not sure if I ever told you that my dad is actually the person who originally got me into Power. But we’ve been talking over the last couple weeks about whether Mireya was going to make it out alive, and my argument has been that you couldn’t do that to Tommy again, after he already lost LaKeisha (La La Anthony), Holly (Lucy Walters) and his unborn child with Holly. Did it feel like Tommy deserved sustained happiness, at least for a little bit of time? I felt like it would be almost redundant to kill her, because we’ve seen that with Holly. And for Mireya to make it out, if there’s another chapter, wouldn’t that be interesting to see what she does do? Now that she’s pregnant, the further she gets along, the more she’s gonna be thinking about the survival of the baby — that becomes the priority. So, is her loyalty going to lie with Tommy or with the baby? I’m glad she didn’t die in this. I think that would’ve been too soon and I love the scenes with Mireya, played wonderfully by Carmela Zumbado. Back to the final scene, what was it like filming that with Michael? You’ve been working with him for almost half of his life, and that relationship between Tommy and Tariq has become the longest and most substantial relationship left in the universe. He’s such a professional, great actor, and it was a lot of fun to act with him again. When Tariq showed up in the warehouse, I thought it was staged pretty well. But, to our great director Robert Townsend, I was like, “Okay, but he’s gotta be more heroic than that, right? What about this…” I found myself looking out for Michael as a person, as Tommy would be looking out for Tariq, because there is definitely the uncle-nephew relationship between us, too. I think that only added to the end of our show. Power concluded with Tommy fleeing New York in search of a fresh start, so why is now the right time for him to return? If you ain’t pushing, you’re falling. I think there is the idea of the expansiveness. Tommy and Diamond were supposed to take over the Midwest, but this went differently and Tommy is now listening to the world when the world talks, which is an evolution that the writers made. Tommy had to do that now. With Tariq’s invite back to New York, Tommy is so curious, isn’t he? Like, “Hmm, let me just see this.” It’s too exciting of an opportunity not to at least check it out. In the final moment, when “Big Rich Town” kicked in, I couldn’t help but smile. Are you prepared for fans to go crazy over that hat tip and tease? The fans are going to be losing their minds, and they’re gonna be waiting for that black screen that says, “Power: Legacy, 2027.” (Laughs.) Not that I’m saying that’s gonna happen, because it’s not. But, in the fans’ minds, it’s gonna be burned onto the screen like that. They’re gonna be going insane, and it makes sense, because there’s so much disaster, destruction and expansion that could happen with the relationship between those two. So, it sounds like we’re not ready to confirm a Tommy and Tariq show? You’re gonna have to ask Gary Lennon! I hope I’m available. After “Big Rich Town” starts, you have this classic Tommy smile and laugh. Knowing this possibly could be the last image of Tommy and present day Power, how did you want to play that? It might be the final, final moment. But I wanted that look to pay homage to all of these people who were there from the beginning — Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Gary Lennon, Mark Canton, Courtney Kemp, Omari Hardwick, Nauri Naughton, Lela Loren. Like: Yeah, we did that, and we pulled it off. What are the emotions right now as you reach the end of this era of Tommy? This was a big moment and time for you, becoming the lead of your own show. The thing I takeaway from this is that Gary Lennon and I together are a frigging juggernaut, because you can’t break us apart. We just keep saying “yes.” We lead by example, and with kindness and positivity, no matter what. We had an amazing set. We encouraged people to be their best. Gary does what 50 Cent does: he hires the best person and lets them work. That’s why every director wanted to come back to our show so much, because they were encouraged to do their thing and put their stamp on it. And that comes from the partnership of Gary Lennon and Joseph Sikora, which equals Tommy Egan. A line that really stuck out to me in the episode was Mireya saying to Tommy, “You’re the only person who I’ve ever met who is broken and unbreakable at the same time.” Does that almost sum up Tommy in one sentence better than anything else could? Gary and I talked so much about that line. That is Tommy Egan: he’s broken and unbreakable. To me, that’s the line of the entire series. Thirteen years into playing Tommy Egan, and the fans still want more. For Tommy to be resonating at this level, so deep into this run, what does that mean to you? The only award I’ve ever won for Tommy Egan is the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Iconic Actor award in 2022, and, for me, that means being recognized by the culture. All that matters to me is that the culture says, “Thank you, ” and that’s the biggest award I could ever possibly win. I don’t need a statue for that — the fans have spoken. I’ve been so lucky to have been able to do Ozark, Reasonable Doubt and a bunch of other shows during this. But I always come back to this wonderful anchor of Tommy. And since season two of Power and season two of Force, Gary Lennon has been my rock, my confidant. He’s challenged me to stay passionate, to find even greater nuances and allowed me to be a consummate collaborator. I gained a brother, and that’s what matters in life. As you said, Gary joined both Power and Force in season two, and so I think it’s time we get Gary a season one with Tommy. (Laughs.) The third time’s a charm, and we need Gary Lennon from the get-go! We’ve been talking Power with each other for a decade, and here’s hoping that we’ll keep doing it, this time with Gary writing a series for you and Michael. I appreciate your passion for the show. So, thanks to you… and your dad! *** Power Book IV: Force is now streaming or on demand through several streaming platforms that offer Starz.