WARNING: The following contains spoilers for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Season 7, Episode 13, “Knocked Down, Knocked Up,” which aired Wednesday, March 2, on The CW.
In the Legends of Tomorrow Season 7 finale, Donald Faison’s bombastic time-traveling superhero Booster Gold makes a big, dramatic, hilarious entrance, throws a few kinks in the timeline, runs away with the Waverider and comes back only to double (or is it triple?) cross the Legends. If that sounds more like the plot to a movie, that’s because the episode feels like one — and if The CW doesn’t want to order Season 8 despite having every reason to, a Legends film wouldn’t be out of order.
The Season 7 finale ended on a cliffhanger, with the Legends and Booster headed to jail for tampering with the timeline. That’s exactly the kind of story that could be wrapped up in a full-length feature film. Legends has already been willing to reference movie characters (through its numerous nods to Brandon Routh’s portrayal of Superman) and its time-travel concept allows for plenty of flexibility, so it could pivot to a film easier than other Arrowverse properties. A movie could even incorporate some Justice League cameos, since there’s still an interest in Justice League content.
Not only is the arrival of Booster Gold the first introduction of a DC canon character in the last few seasons of Legends, Donald Faison is one of the biggest names the show has cast in a non-guest role since Victor Garber. The series has had important guest stars such as John Noble, and it’s toyed with big-screen concepts — most notably the aforementioned teasing of Routh’s Superman days — but the show has mostly stuck to creating its own superheroes, clones, and aliens and bringing in lesser-known actors to embody them, making new stars in the process. The most recognizable names in the Legends cast, like Wentworth Miller as Captain Cold and Caity Lotz as Sara Lance, were brought over from other Arrowverse series such as The Flash and Arrow.
Having Faison is a coup, and the actor has already mentioned recruiting his close friend Zach Braff, whether as an actor (Braff is interested in playing Blue Beetle) or as a director. Braff is another major name both in front of and behind the camera. He received an Emmy nomination for directing the “Biscuits” episode of Ted Lasso and received several other awards and nominations for his directorial debut Garden State in 2004. The duo have enough star power to pique interest in a movie, and some of Legends‘ other elements would translate well or work even better in the film format.
The film would have the benefit of an established Arrowverse and large cadre of recognisable characters and heroic types, so it could jump into Avengers-esque ensemble fun without needing other movies to set up its characters or universe. In the leadup to the film’s release, savvy marketing could utilize the series by promoting Season 7 on streaming platforms and drawing on the show’s massive amount of content to put together short films that would introduce the characters to new viewers.
Legends has struggled to depict a wide variety of superpowers, aliens, and time-traveling effects on its relatively small budget, as well as all the period wardrobe and sets that a time-travel show requires. A big-screen budget could allow the Legends writers to really show off other timelines, characters’ alternate forms and superpowers in new ways. A close-ended film would also allow for different exploration of stories without worrying about future side effects or resolutions, like how Booster is canonically the father of Rip Hunter, played by Arthur Darvill. Rip and Booster have encountered plenty of paradoxes and weirdness in their comic portrayals.
While Season 8 would be the ideal, if that’s not possible, a Legends of Tomorrow movie already has a cliffhanger to resolve, a great director potentially on board, recognizable stars and plenty of possibilities.
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