Arthur Darvill's Rip Hunter won't be coming back for season 4 of The CW's Legends of Tomorrow, which indicates that the former captain of the Waverider and original star of the series is going to remain dead.

Though not a series regular, Rip Hunter was a recurring character in season 3 who had a key role in the Legends' season-long struggle with the time demon, Mallus. After being exiled from the Waverider as well as the Time Bureau, Rip recruited Wally West and was on a path to redemption while helping the Legends defeat Mallus. Unfortunately, Rip had to sacrifice himself to give the Legends the upper hand in the season 3 finale.

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Legends of Tomorrow showrunner Phil Klemmer told Digital Spy at San Diego Comic-Con 2018 that Rip Hunter won't be returning for season 4: "I believe he's done, for this season. But, I mean, Arthur Darvill is the greatest. We've got a terrible habit of killing the greatest people. It's totally stupid."

The revelation is disappointing news for fans who had hopes that the character could somehow return. As Legends is a time-travel series that has a habit of bringing back dead heroes and villains, Rip's return seemed like a good possibility. In April, former showrunner Marc Guggenheim was open to the idea of bringing Rip back, and added that Darvill was willing to reprise the role. However, a season 4 appearance from Darvill now seems extremely unlikely.

As Rip is the character responsible for bringing the Legends together and the team's original leader, it's surprising that Legends won't be revisiting the character. However, the season 3 finale did find a way to appropriately wrap up Rip's story. Rip's departure leaves the series with only three members of the show's original cast: Ray (Brandon Routh), Sara (Caity Lotz), and Rory (Dominic Purcell). Due to the high volume of characters who left or died in season 3, the cast for season 4 will look dramatically different from past seasons.

The current team will lose Wally West (Keiynan Lonsdale), and gain Constantine (Matt Ryan), along with a brand-new character played by Ramona Young. Maisie Richardson-Sellers will remain with the series, but will play a different character, since Amaya's storyline reached a proper conclusion at the end of season 3. Fans will also be seeing a lot more of Jess Macallan's Ava Sharpe and Courtney Ford's Nora Darhk, as both actresses have been promoted to series regular status. From the looks of things, season 4 is setting up to be a new beginning for the series.

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Season 4 of DC's Legends of Tomorrow premieres Monday, October 22 on The CW.

Source: Digital Spy