'Silicon Valley' season 5 rumors, cast news: Erlich leaves Pied Piper

T.J. Miller as Erlich Bachman in "Silicon Valley" HBO/Silicon Valley

"Silicon Valley" season 4 ended with Erlich Bachman (T.J. Miller) in a Tibetan opium den getting high, never to be seen nor heard of again. Consequently, Miller will not be returning for season 5 because of personal career choices. Fans speculated early on that Miller did not want to do the show anymore which turned out to be true. He decided to leave the show because he wanted to pursue other projects.

In an interview with the The Hollywood Reporter, Miller reasoned, "Everybody was like, 'What the f— are you talking about? You're on this successful show. Don't you want three more years of solid acting work and don't you want to be a famous television actor?' And I was like, 'No, not really.' I'd like to parasail into the Cannes Film Festival for 'The Emoji Movie' because that's the next new funny thing that will make people laugh."

Aside from "The Emoji Movie," Miller does indeed have several high-profile movie projects in the works which include "Ready Player One," "Deadpool 2," and "How to Train Your Dragon 3." The new movie "Ready Player One" will be directed by highly-acclaimed director Steven Spielberg, while the follow-ups to "Deadpool" and "How to Train Your Dragon" were proven hits at the box-office.

With Miller's popularity on the rise, it is no wonder why he wants to leave the TV world of "Silicon Valley" and pursue bigger projects in the coming years.

Despite Miller's wishes to leave, co-creator Mike Judge left the ending open just in case Miller might decide to return. Perhaps, Erlich might wake up from his opium high and board the next plane black to California.

Miller's character will leave behind Pied Piper's Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch), Bertram Gilfoyle (Martin Starr), Dinesh Chugtai (Kumail Nanjiani), and Monica Hall (Amanda Crew).

The new season of "Silicon Valley" will premiere in 2018.

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