Legends of Tomorrow is gearing up for the enormous four-part Arrowverse crossover next week, but the time-travelling superhero show has more to offer than just a small part in the larger DC TV universe. The series, now in its second season, has really started to find its feet (and its audience) as a very different kind of superhero show. The revolving ensemble cast has lost and gained new members throughout its run, including the heartbreaking death of Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) last season and the addition of a Vixen (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) from the past this season.

Now, Richardson-Sellers has revealed that we will be seeing the return of at least two characters in the second half of season 2, and one of them could answer some big questions that we've been asking since this season's premiere.

The actress told CinemaBlend that the original team leader and Time Master Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) will be returning soon, although he may not be quite the same as he was. Richardson-Sellers said, "[Rip Hunter] does come back, just not necessarily the Rip that we remember. That's sort of what is a big part of the second half of the season." 

Rip won't be the only character making a return this year, either. Richardson-Sellers also spoke about the possibility of re-visiting some of her other Justice Society teammates: "There is someone coming back. That's all I can say, that there is someone coming back you will see in the next episode we're shooting, that's...12." 

Fans have been wondering about Rip since the beginning of the season, when the rest of the team were rescued from various times and reunited on the Waverider -- everyone except Captain Hunter. His disappearance has been left a mystery, and after some false starts, Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) has taken over as team leader for the Legends. The JSA, meanwhile, made a brief appearance in the show when the Legends traveled back to the 1940s. Vixen became a member of the team after Rex Tyler (Patrick J Adams) was killed by Reverse-Flash, but the remaining members (Stargirl, Obsidian, Commander Steel and Dr Mid-Nite) stayed in their original time, and any of them could potentially re-appear.

The return of Rip Hunter is fantastic news for Arthur Darvill fans, as well as for any viewers who have been desperate to find out what exactly happened to him. However, Richardson-Sellers' description of him as "not necessarily the Rip we remember" suggests that his return won't be a purely happy affair. While we could be seeing the original Rip returning a changed man in some way, we could also see a completely different version of the character -- one from the future (perhaps even the same future as Barry Allen's secret message), one from an alternate universe, or even one that has been co-opted by the Legion of Doom.

Similarly, we don't know anything about which JSA member will be making a reappearance, or how. We have already seen an older Obsidian (Lance Henriksen) when the team traveled to the '80s, so the Legends may be returning to his timeline. Obsidian revealed that the other team members never returned from a mission, and are presumably dead. This suggests that the Legends may be returning to an earlier time in order to bump into the JSA members again.

While the return of Rip Hunter and (at least one member of) the JSA is fantastic news, this does also increase the chances that we will be saying goodbye to another cast member in the second half of season 2. The cast number has stayed relatively steady so far, and we do know that the crew of the Waverider is a revolving ensemble. Season 2 saw two members leave (Captain Cold and Rip Hunter), and two join (Steel and Vixen). Should Rip return, it probably means that someone else will be heading off the ship. A sad, if not unexpected thought. We also don't know much about how these characters will be returning -- the nature of the show and time-travel within the Arrowverse means that almost anything is possible, and we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Heroes v. Aliens begins Monday, Nov. 28 with Supergirl at 8 p.m. EST on The CW, and continues with The Flash at the same time on Tuesday, Arrow on Wednesday, and Legends of Tomorrow on Thursday.

Source: CinemaBlend