Phil Klemmer Teases a 'Legends of Tomorrow' Character Death

It has been a while since a member of the Waverider's crew has died on DC's Legends of Tomorrow, but executive producer Phil Klemmer says that does not mean one is not coming soon.

The series was conceived as a kind of Island of Misfit Toys for characters who could not find their place on Arrow and The Flash, but has taken on an identity of its own and welcomed in characters who are unrelated to the parent shows. Still, the attrition that many fans have expected along the way has not really happened.

"All the Legends are not going to be fine," Klemmer told ComicBook.com of season 3. "I think that's something that we said very early on; when we were talking about a show that we hadn't even made at Comic Con three years ago, we said this show was an ensemble, and it was one where we would have a rotating cast, and that when people died, they would die in real life. It's been a long time since Hawkman got stabbed or whatever. It's been a long time since Hawkgirl flew away. Our show really got to be super-funny last year, but I feel like you have to leaven that comedy with some hardcore pathos and some real-world stakes."

So far, the humor has been coming again in season three: characters got drunk out of their mind while hanging around with Billy Zane's P.T. Barnum in episode 2, and last night's episode 3 saw Nate and Amaya get high in order to go on a vision quest, with Nate attempting to break out of his trance-state to fly a time machine.

(It did not go well.)

With Victor Garber already having announced his departure from Legends, the obvious choice for a character death is Professor Martin Stein, although it might be more narratively satisfying to allow him to retire and spend time with the grandchild he just learned is coming. Last season's finale saw nearly every character die briefly, only to be revived by time travel, magic, and the plot.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow airs on Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT, following new episodes of The Flash.