‘Bones’ Spoilers: The Real Reason Behind This Season’s Shocking Death And What’s Coming Next

Bones delivered one of the most shocking deaths on television this season, and now the departed actor is shedding light on why he needed to leave the show.

John Francis Daley, who played Dr. Lance Sweets, was killed off in shocking and dramatic fashion this season. The fallout is still coming two weeks after the death actually took place, with an emotional farewell in last week’s episode.

Daley said it was difficult, even for him.

“I had a strong bond with Sweets,” Daley told TVLine one week after his character’s death. “I really did feel like I was losing a part of me. I had so much compassion for him. He was such a good person… He had gone through so much, and to see him die in such a grim way was shocking.”

But the shocking Bones death was actually Daley’s doing. He has seen his writing and directing career take off in Hollywood — he’s making a National Lampoon’s Vacation remake — and needed to step away from the show to focus more on that part of his career.

Daley said he wishes he could have done both Bones and work on directing, but it was not to be.

“I knew it would be tough, because I was asking for four months off,” he told TVLine. “And I was so happy that they were able to accommodate that. But, yeah, in a perfect world, I would’ve loved to have [completed the movie] and then segue back to the ‘Bones’ family.”

But producers are assuring worried fans that there are no more deaths for the Bones family.

“‘Bones’ is not going to turn into a dark show where they are dealing with these demons all of the time,” said executive producer Stephen Nathan in an interview with E! News. “We are going to be back on our traditional ‘Bones’ footing very quickly.”

But for Bones, the new traditional footing will no longer include Dr. Sweets.