LEGENDS OF TOMORROW: Marc Guggenheim Explains [SPOILER]’s Departure and Introducing [SPOILER]

Last night, The CW aired the season one finale for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. The episode served as a strong conclusion to the season, and it sets up some very big things for season two. Additionally, two characters’ story arcs have been finished, and one of them will no longer be on the show as a series regular.

Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim weighs in on these decisions, introducing new characters, the season two big bad, and more.

[Warning: The Following Contains MAJOR SPOILERS For The Season Finale of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.]

So, in the season finale of Legends of Tomorrow, the team finally succeeded in killing Vandal Savage. With the tyrannical villain behind them, Hawkgirl and Hawkman leave the team to start fresh with their lives. Thus, actress Ciara Renée won’t be a series regular for season two. Actor Falk Hentschel was a recurring guest star. So, we’ll be seeing a lot less of the Hawks next season, if they even appear at all.

Renée is the second actor to exit as a series regular on Legends of Tomorrow. Last week, Wentworth Miller’s Captain Cold sacrificed himself. However, the actor signed a deal to recur on The CW’s DC shows next season, so death is not goodbye.

Marc Guggenheim explains the decision to Deadline, saying that the creative team had trouble continuing the characters’ arcs in season two when the season one finale offered such a fine conclusion. “The bow was tied so tightly and neatly with their story in the finale, that everything we thought of felt very forced. After 4000 years, they were no longer under the specter of Vandal, and we felt they need some time off. Bringing them back to the team as soon as the the beginning of Season 2 felt premature.” Guggenheim then reaffirms that next season will feature a lot of new faces, and there is a constantly-rotating team of characters.

One of these new faces is actor Patrick J. Adams’ hero, revealed to be Rex Tyler, aka Hourman. Tyler is a member of the Justice Society of America, a team that will be a big part of Legends of Tomorrow‘s second season.

Guggenheim talks with The Hollywood Reporter about introducing such an iconic group in the Arrowverse. “With his final words in the finale, he planted a pretty deep flag about where we’re headed in season two, which is not just introducing Hourman but introducing his teammates in the Justice Society of America. For comic book fans, everyone knows the Justice Society is really the precursor to the Justice League, so it’s a pretty big move in our DC universe here on TV.”

Guggenheim then thanks Warner Bros./DC for allowing the team to be brought to life on the show. He adds that, with the Time Council now disbanded and the Oculus, the Legends will serve as the new Time Masters in season two.

With the Legends and now the Justice Society of America, next season’s big bad will have to be powerful enough to take on both teams. Guggenheim says that the big bad will not be the Thanagarians, who were teased in the last couple episodes. But, if you thought Vandal Savage was tough, you haven’t seen anything yet. “It’s going to be something else entirely,” Guggenheim explains. “All I’ll really say about the nemesis in season two is Vandal Savage looks like a walk in the park compared to what the Legends will be facing. This will be a much, much bigger threat. I’m going to leave it at that because when we do reveal it, it’s going to be pretty big. … It’s going to be way bigger than what you can even imagine, I can guarantee it.”

Casting is already underway for two new characters in Legends of Tomorrow‘s second season. Expect some casting news to come in the near future. Season two premieres sometime next fall.