After its freshman season, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow ended with a bang announcing Justice Society for the second season. With a rocky start using Vandal Savage as a tiring villain, executive producer Phil Klemmer talked about the type of villains that we would see this season, “This year we wanted to diversify our people […] we have a consortium of evil-doers, and we don’t actually know what their agenda is, as opposed to Vandal Savage.” With much more mystery surrounding the multitude of villains, “this season is much more about peeling the layers off of the onion, […] and how our relationships function or not function.”
Both Klemmer and executive producer Marc Guggenheim talked at San Diego Comic-Con about the differences and juxtaposition of the Legends team and the JSA. Klemmer joked that after seeing the JSA, some of the team members might just react in shock, like, “Oh my god, we are so slap-dash, we’re just the shittiest superheroes to ever existed.”
Guggenheim also expressed excitement about the Justice Society, saying, “I love that they’re the world’s first superhero team.” There is definitely a feeling of a rag-tag group of heroes when it comes to the team “who are a bunch of screw-ups” against the storied and legendary characters of the Justice Society. However, it doesn’t seem like the team will be too messed up about it. With more plot freedom without Savage’s plot, Klemmer adds that “they can do what they do best, which is snark and fight and fuck up.”
With all this time travelling, it doesn’t seem like we will be seeing any involvement with The Flash‘s Flashpoint storyline anytime soon. Guggenheim talked about the difficulty in logistically setting it up, but also that it could occur in the future, just not right off the bat.
And although Guggenheim admits that there will are no plans for Matt Ryan’s Constantine to return at the moment, it seems that the idea is always swirling around. Fans of Jonah Hex will be excited to hear that he will definitely be returning to the show. Adding to that, Klemmer teases that there will be “no shortage of interesting guest stars this season.”
Speaking of the Justice League of America, we got to sit down with one of its members Amaya Jiwe aka Vixen, played by Maisie Richardson-Sellers. The version that Richardson-Sellers plays is Mari McCabe’s grandmother, and she talked a little bit about the flexibility that she was given in creating her own version of the character. Her version of Vixen has a strong sense of justice, and it will be interesting to see her Vixen come up against the legends team.
While neither Richardson-Sellers, nor Arthur Darvill could spoil much for the upcoming season, Darvill did say that while reading the first script there were moments when he said, “Oh, I’m so glad they’re doing this!” Expectedly, he did talk about doing more physical fights and action sequences as Rip in the future and preparing for such scenes.
With a great character arc last season, Dominic Purcell talked a little bit about where Rory would be after losing his partner and best friend, Snart. “He’s still trying to find his identity as to why he’s on the ship.” But Purcell was quick to add that Rory would be fine after this. With the loss of Snart, this also gives the show the opportunity to explore the Ray and Rory relationship a bit more, and it does look like we will be seeing more aspects of the two together.
With so many great lines coming from Rory, Purcell gives a nod to the writers and also admits to coming up with a couple of the lines himself, adding that in a superhero show “you need some comedy.”
He also talked about the revelation that Rory was Kronos, one of the most surprising reveals, and what that storyline was like for Rory. “It brought him closer to parts of humanity that he never explored before.”
Victor Garber’s move from The Flash to full-time character on Legends of Tomorrow also prompted a change in partner, after losing Robbie Amell and gaining Franz Drameh as a partner for the Firestorm duo. Garber described his relationship to Drameh as very paternal, and that there was nothing they needed to do to foster the relationship they had on the show, it simply evolved. “We have this unbelievable bond, every time we see each other. You either have that or you don’t, and we do.”
In regards to the Justice Society coming into play with the team, Stein’s reaction is much more defensive. “He’s trying to prove that they’re on an equal par, but they’re not.” He adds, “They get in trouble, there’s a lot of trouble with the Justice Society.” So it seem like the team will be off to a rocky start with the JSA this season, at least with the difference of approach with the two teams.
What Garber seemed to be the most interested in was the interpersonal relationships that Stein has, both with his wife and also with the younger version of himself. He teased that we might be seeing the young Martin Stein again due to the positive reaction to the character by the viewers. He also highlighted the importance of the humanity of a character, saying, “If you don’t have an investment in these people and their lives, I don’t really see the point.”
On the whole, it doesn’t seem like the team will be having a warm reaction to the JSA. When asked about the JSA, Caity Lotz referred to the team as “goody-two shoes” and said, “I think [Sara]’s not going to be really into it.” However, despite any friction, Lotz did mention having hope for seeing a friendship blossom between Sara and Vixen. “I would love to see the kind of relationship that Rory and Snart have with Sara and Vixen.”
In regards to Laurel’s death, Sara isn’t over it, “I don’t think she’s accepted it and moved on.” And in particular, this seems to be reflected in her relationship with Rip. “I kind of think Sara hates Rip,” in reaction to him not letting her go back to save her sister. And although the writers have talked about a potential bond forming between Sara and Rip, Lotz admitted that Sara doesn’t trust Rip yet.
It remains to be seen what kind of relationship will form in season two, especially after the short-lived relationship between Sara and Snart. The chemistry, adored by fans, grew naturally, and the relationship was fostered more by Wentworth Miller and Caity Lotz than the writers. Although, with Miller still remaining a possible guest star in the future I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ve seen of that natural chemistry between him and Lotz.
After a shaky first season with an unpopular villain and a stagnant storyline, the introduction of the Justice Society of America is just what the show needs to take a breath of fresh air. It looks like things are on the up-and-up for the sophomore season of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. The second season premieres on Thursday, October 13th on The CW at 8pm.
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