Legends of Tomorrow Writers Reveal How Their Approach to Aliens Will Be Different

When DC’s Legends of Tomorrow returns to the airwaves in 2021, the series will be dealing with aliens. It’s not an entirely new concept for the Arrowverse — after all, Supergirl is herself an alien and exists in a show that’s all about aliens. The first crossover that brought the Legends and Supergirl to the table was Invasion!, in which an alien race called The Dominators tried to take over Earth because they perceived our metahuman population as a threat to the delicate balance intergalactic politics…and, y’know, Barry kept messing with time, so that’s part of it too.

During DC FanDome, though, the Legends writers revealed that they wanted to do something “bigger and zanier” with the aliens on the show, and something that would give the series a chance to put their own stamp on it. For a start, they plan to play with some of the subgenres of alien fiction.

“We’re trying to lean into some alien genres,” showrunner Keto Shimizu said. “Supergirl does their own version of aliens, and we’re trying to make it really feel and look different; we’re putting our own stamp on it.”

Aside from Supergirl, no other Arrowverse show has had a season-long thread about aliens. Of course, following the events of “Crisis on Infinite Earths” last season, Supergirl. and Black Lightning have been merged into the same Earth as the rest of the heroes on The CW‘s DC shows. That means shows like Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash dealing more frequently with aliens shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.

“Every season we try to go bigger and zanier, which is also interesting this season when we’re trying to be safe and film during possible quarantine,” writer Grainne Godfree said. “But I feel like if any show can do it the Legends can do it.”

Here’s the synopsis for the forthcoming season:

Having spent last season trying to track down the Loom of Fate in order to bring back their slain comrades, the Legends must now save history from a foe like none they’ve encountered in the past or future. Co-captains of the time-ship Waverider Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) and Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) have dealt with monsters, time anomalies, and most recently, villains from Hell, but this season they will face something even more challenging and bizarre … space aliens! After one of their own is abducted by a ruthless alien, this new mission becomes personal. It will take more than the combined powers of a dark magician, John Constantine (Matt Ryan); a semi-reformed arsonist, Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell); historian who transforms into steel, Nate Heywood (Nick Zano); and a brother-sister wind-totem-wielding duo, Zara Tarazi (Tala Ashe) and Behrad Tarazi (Shayan Sobhian) to save the world for a sixth time. They must recruit a new Legend, a woman who was abducted by aliens when she was a child and supposedly imbued with powers that will help the team defeat their intergalactic foes. Either that or she’s just crazy… Based on the characters from DC, DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Supergirl”), Phil Klemmer (“The Tomorrow People,” “Chuck”), Grainne Godfree (“The Flash”), Keto Shimizu (“Arrow”), James Eagan (“Ash vs Evil Dead,” “Hellcats”) and Sarah Schechter (“Arrow,” “The Flash”).

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will return in spring 2021.