DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Showrunner Opens Up About Dominic Purcell’s Exit

After playing Mick Rory/Heat Wave for six seasons on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Dominic Purcell exited The CW series in the Season 6 finale, “The Fungus Amongus”. The episode saw Mitch choose to head off into the cosmos with the alien Kayla and the babies they’d had together, choosing family over continued adventures with the Legends. Now, with Legends heading into Season 7 next week, co-showrunner Keto Shimizu is opening up about Purcell’s exit and what it means for the Legends crew.

“Shimizu told SyFy Wire that while they miss Purcell and Mick, the show will grow and move on as new characters come in to fill the space left behind.

“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,” Shimizu 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.”

She added, “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. 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.”

While Purcell’s exit was a bit of a sad one for fans, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. In April, Purcell revealed in a since-deleted social media post that he would be leaving the popular Arrowverse show after six seasons, later clarifying that he was stepping down as a series regular, but that he would return periodically in Season 7. At the time, series co-showrunner Phil Klemmer said that there was always a seat open on the Waverider for Purcell.

“I think everybody just needs a break from the show, myself included, and even when people leave the Waverider, there’s always a seat open for people to come back,” he said. “I’m looking forward to having him on the show next season.”

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow returns for its seventh season on Wednesday, October 13th at 8/7c on The CW.