Legends of Tomorrow has been renewed for season 2, but will it look like season 1 or be a completely different beast?
Earlier this year, The CW renewed its entire primetime lineup, including Legends of Tomorrow. However, fans have wondered how the show could build on its season 1 premise of traveling through time to kill the immortal Vandal Savage. With those questions in mind, we look at five things we can expect from season 2.
The same cast — mostly
“The show is not going to have a brand new cast next year… but we’ve got a few empty chairs on that bridge, so with empty chairs come possibilities,” EP Marc Guggenheim tells IGN. “Every time a character’s introduced on The Flash or Arrow, we think, ‘Oh, that’d be interesting if that character came over to Legends.'”
He adds, “We always knew that would be the fun aspect of Legends — that The Flash and Arrow would be these breeding grounds for characters to maybe make the leap over.”
On the one hand, it’s definitely fun to see supporting characters on Arrow or The Flash get more screen time by moving over to Legends, but on the other, Arrow has definitely been suffering from the loss of some of the wonderful characters it has developed, both to The Flash and to Legends. Sometimes it’s fine to let the characters stay on the parent show!
But different dynamics between the characters
Klemmer says that while the cast will mostly remain the same, “The joy of doing an ensemble show is you can change the dynamic.
“We never want our characters to be too comfortable or familiar with one another. I think what makes the show so fun is that they’re not your usual square-jawed, straight-edge, grim and determined version of a superhero team. As we find them working very well at the end of season 1, I think we’re obliged as storytellers to come up with a reason they are not working well in season 2. I kind of feel like that’s when they’re at their best.”
Hopefully the dynamics won’t shift too much, because watching the team come together and begin working like a real team has been one of the most satisfying parts of Legends season 1. I can see being frustrated as a viewer if we lose that development.
A new plot
Patrick J. Adams has been cast as a “beloved superhero from the DC canon” whose agenda serves as “a launching off point for season 2.” He will appear in the season 1 finale, “Legendary,” as well as the season 2 premiere with the potential for more appearances. While we don’t know who this character is, various theories have popped up around the internet. I’ve theorized about that being Booster Gold.
Showrunner Phil Klemmer tells IGN that with the introduction of this new character, “We’re coming at [season 2] from a completely different angle. We’re determined to make every part of season 2 feel like its own show. Episode 201 will very much be a new pilot with new good guys, new bad guys, new stakes, new dynamics, new goals.
“The team will basically have to find a new purpose. Once you save the world, what do you do then? It’s sort of a question of after you’ve won a Super Bowl, what do you do from there?”
So, we can assume — unsurprisingly — that the team is victorious in defeating Vandal Savage. But what comes next is a good question. Do they just go back to the lives they left behind in 2016? It’s hard to imagine, for example, Leonard Snart going back to Central City to rob banks and serve as an antagonist for The Flash. (Though I’m excited to see the first meeting of Barry and Leonard once Vandal has been defeated since Barry had a feeling all along that Leonard had a hero within him.)
More connections with the ‘Arrow’-verse
We’ve discussed some concerns on Hero Hype about how well Legends has worked alongside Arrow and The Flash, such as the effects of the Lazarus Pit seeming different for Thea on Arrow and Sara on Legends. To address those concerns, Legends season 2 is “bringing a writer from Arrow [Keto Shimizu] and a writer from Flash [Grainne Godfree] onto our series, just so that we can make our stories work in concert.”
Moreover, there is hope to spend more time tying all three shows together. “The only challenge is the logistics of a crossover. If it weren’t for the fact that Grant Gustin and Stephen Amell were busy working 16 hours a day, five days a week on their own series, we would certainly find more time for the crossovers,” Klemmer says. “It’s definitely something that we’re planning on doing next season for our show.”
The closer Legends can begin working with Arrow and The Flash, the better, I have to imagine. Seeing characters, even minor ones like Quentin Lance, cross from one to the other always makes the universe feel larger and richer, which only serves as an advantage for the Arrow-verse as a whole.
Appearances from other DC characters
With the successes of Jonah Hex on Legends and Constantine on Arrow, Klemmer says, “I feel like in season 2 we’re determined to make it an even greater infusion of familiar faces and names from the DC Universe. We flirted with it and we had a version of guest stars, but as we move into season 2, I think we’re all determined to have people who are going to be integral to the season-long mythology.”
He also tells Blastr, “DC’s allowed us to go crazy in their candy store. In season 2, we plan to gorge ourselves on their delicious characters.”
The sheer joy Legends has at being a comic book show has made the show enjoyable for me, so hearing that we’ll be getting even more characters from the comics gets me excited. The portrayal of Jonah Hex was spot on, so I look forward to seeing who else they bring in.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow airs Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on The CW.