Tyler Hoechlin (Derek Hale) will be stepping down as a series regular for Teen Wolf season 5.

The news comes via Buzzfeed, who talked with Creator Jeff Davis about the story arcs of each main character on the show for season 5.

The biggest shock, however, was when Davis discussed Derek’s arc for this year. “Tyler Hoechlin decided he wanted more time to pursue movies,” Davis says. “We talked and creatively agreed that maybe this was a good season to refocus on the teens of Teen Wolf, and while he won’t be a series regular anymore, I can say that you probably won’t have seen the last of Derek Hale. We love him and miss him.”

Related: Coach won’t be appearing in ‘Teen Wolf’ season 5

Hoechlin has been on Teen Wolf since season 1 and has been integral to the plot each year the show has been on MTV. In season 4, Derek finally came to terms with his role as a beta werewolf and stepped aside as Scott truly came into his own as an Alpha werewolf. By the end of season 4, Derek was able to transform into an actual wolf.

We don’t know exactly where Derek will be come season 5, but the actor has been seen on set. Although he won’t be in nearly every episode as he was before, we can expect him to show up from time to time, which was also confirmed by the official Teen Wolf Twitter account:

And just as the show has done with Jackson (Colton Haynes) and Isaac (Daniel Sharman), they’ll be leaving the door open for a return when schedules align.

Hoechlin recently finished a film titled That’s What I’m Talking About, directed and written by Boyhood‘s Richard Linklater. The film centers around the lives of baseball players both on and off the field, and it has been getting a lot of positive buzz lately.

In completely unrelated news, Linden Ashby announced that Ashton Moio (Twisted) has joined Teen Wolf season 5.