Criminal Minds: Evolution’s big bad is finally hanging up his spiders. In the wake of the long-running procedural’s season 19 finale, Zach Gilford — who plays infamous serial killer-turned-Hannibal Lecter-esque informant Elias Voit (who at one point used venomous arachnids to murder his victims) for the Behavioral Analysis Unit — confirms that he won’t be returning next season.

I spoke exclusively with Gilford about this week’s episode, which saw Voit returning one final time to haunt Joe Mantegna’s Rossi before being put away for good. I asked Gilford about where the character fits in his body of work, whether he’d be up for returning to the show to direct, and his thoughts on not returning as Voit.

“Well, it's sad, honestly,” Gilford says. “Who knows if I ever do come back, but I think Voit is kind of always going to be that white whale not just for Rossi, but the BAU. Even though he's gone, he's still going to be lingering in there somewhere.”

One of Voit’s final scenes saw him popping up as an apparition to Rossi, something that has been part of his character’s arc for multiple seasons. Gilford says that, although he wishes he were coming back for Season 20, it was a great way to send off his character.

“I think it's the right way to do it,” Gilford says. “Because however their relationship has evolved, the last voice that Rossi hears is [Voit] giving him shit. You're like, ‘Oh, you think you're going to get rid of me that easily? That's not happening.’”

Gilford says that if he ever does get to return to the world of Criminal Minds, he has a superhero-inspired idea for a spin-off.

“I've been pitching,” Gilford says. “I think we should just do a spin-off of my character and make it kind of like a Suicide Squad thing. [Voit is] clearly smarter than everyone in the BAU. They haven't solved a fucking crime in four years without me. There are no real plans for me to come back, but I'll jump at it in a heartbeat, as long as it felt not too contrived.”

Gilford, who’s directed two episodes of Criminal Minds, also says he’d love to return to the show to helm more episodes.

“Oh my God, I'd love to go back and direct,” Gilford says. “I'd just love to be on that set. Directing was so fun. I love our crew. Everyone works so hard and they're just excited to be there. It's fun directing on a show where you're a cast member because everyone's rooting for you. I'm a hyper-functioning control freak, so directing is a perfect job for [me].”

Gilford — whose other roles include the TV adaptation of Friday Night Lights as loveable quarterback Matt Saracen and in Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass as the protagonist Riley Flynn — says that he doesn’t see Voit as an aberration on a resumé filled with characters of all stripes.

“I just like playing people who are interesting and complex,” Gilford says. “Matt Saracen is the epitome of a good guy. But what made him that was he was this kid who had too much on his shoulders and he was doing his best. He was failing at times but he was just trying to figure it out.

“I think one of my favorite roles I've played outside [Criminal Minds and] Friday Night Lights would be in Midnight Mass. [That character is a] kind of tortured person who doesn't know what to do with his life and, much like Voit, is saddled with this guilt of his sins. I don't like playing one-dimensional characters. And that's why I think Voit was so cool, because as much as he's the most prolific serial killer ever, he has a heart and he's struggling with it.”

Despite exiting Criminal Minds, Gilford says he feels lucky to be attached to yet another long-running character, even if that meant performing for four seasons as a serial killer.

“I’ve always said, as an actor, the first goal is to work. If you're super lucky you have a role that resonates with people and people know you for. I got that with Friday Night Lights and I think it's cool to have another one with Criminal Minds. It's just cool and it just makes you feel like, ‘Okay, I did good.’”

Criminal Minds: Evolution is streaming now on Paramount+.

Michael Peyton is the Senior Editorial Director of Events & Entertainment at IGN, leading entertainment content and coverage of tentpole events including IGN Live, San Diego Comic Con, gamescom, and IGN Fan Fest. He's spent 20 years working in the games and entertainment industry, and his adventures have taken him everywhere from the Oscars to Japan to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Follow him on Bluesky @MichaelPeyton