How Tom Wilson derailed Legends of Tomorrow's plans to cast him as the main villain

DC's Legends of Tomorrow is back from its midseason break, and while the show definitely has a plan in place, it wasn't the one they started off with. 

Last summer, The CW series cast Tom Wilson, Biff from Back to the Future, as Hank Heywood, the father to Nate (Nick Zano). In an interview with TVLine, showrunner Phil Klemmer revealed he was slated to be the season's Big Bad. That is until Wilson's own affability meant that any story with him as the villain was about as useless as a screen door on a battleship.

"Our notion of the Big Bad was always a military guy who works for the Pentagon who is going to torture creatures and turn them into super soldiers," Klemmer explained. "When we saw Tom Wilson in action, and got to know him as a person, immediately our plans were dashed. We were like, 'He can’t just be the bad guy. There’s something deeply lovable about this human being.'"

So the idea made like a tree and got out of there, and the writers created a new character to torture magical creatures, Neron (Christian Keyes). They also made Hank a more complex character instead of having Nate corrupted by his evil, mustache-twirling father.

"We realized it was more interesting to see how a dad would be changed by a reconnection with his son. What would it be like for this stern, Master of the Universe guy to be changed by his bohemian, dipshit son?"

You can see Wilson's likable nature for yourself when Legends of Tomorrow continues its fourth season Monday nights on The CW.