Legends of Tomorrow co-showrunner on Dominic Purcell’s exit: ‘The show moves on and grows’

There’s nothing surprising about Legends of Tomorrow losing a team member — the current cast is almost entirely different from the crew that started the show seven seasons ago —but the show just lost one of its last remaining OG team members. So what happens now that Dominic Purcell’s Mick Rory is off the Waverider?

We caught up with Legends of Tomorrow co-showrunner Keto Shimizu to talk about the new season and all the zaniness to come with the team trapped in the 1920s, but she also opened up about Purcell’s departure as a series regular at the end of Season 6, will affect the show moving forward. Not surprisingly, she returned to the core of how the show has handled all its other departures — namely, that the shake-ups is a big part of what keeps the show fresh.

“I mean, I think sort of as with any exit — and we’ve had many, you know, of people from this show — you think maybe initially that there would be a big void there,” she said. “That suddenly there would be, you know, it would feel like a loss. And we miss that character a lot. I mean, he was great, and so beloved for us to write and for Dominic’s portrayal. Like, we absolutely loved it.”

Though Purcell will be missed, Shimizu noted the Waverider will carry on to new adventures, as it always does, evolving its cast and their relationships to keep the show exciting and unpredictable.

“With all the departures that we’ve had on this show, the show moves on and grows from that loss, and new characters come in to sort of fill that space, and new dynamics are formed that kind of complement what was there before — but also, I think, ultimately enhance it,” she said. “So I do think that, we miss him. We loved that character very much. But I think, as with all the losses our show has experienced, we move on.”

With Purcell off the show, that leaves Legends' Capt. Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) as the last remaining original cast member to still be on the show. When the story began all those years ago, Sara was just one member of a team of Arrowverse extras recruited by Arthur Darvill’s Rip Hunter (remember him?) to save the timeline. Now? She’s been running the team for years, and has rebuilt its line-up from the ground up — and the show is as good as its ever been.

Though Purcell might be gone, the series is looking to bring back a different original cast member to celebrate the milestone 100th episode this upcoming season. Wentworth Miller will reprise his role as Captain Cold, who was also a founding member of the team all those years ago. Interesting enough, he was also partners in crime with Purcell’s Mick Rory. What will he think about his old pal riding off to retirement?

Legends of Tomorrow’s seventh season premieres October 13 on The CW.

*Benjamin Bullard contributed to this report.