While the current seasons of Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Black Lightning, and Batwoman all began in October, Legends of Tomorrow is just about to kick off its fifth-season run this coming January. While this isn’t the first time a season of Legends of Tomorrow has premiered midseason, the decision to bring back the time-travel series way later than the rest of the Arrowverse has actually something to do with the show’s upcoming storyline.
“Crisis [on Infinite Earths] is essentially a prequel to [Legends of Tomorrow] Season 5,” showrunner Keto Shimizu told Comic Book Resources, noting that the new season can’t begin until the ongoing five-part Arrowverse crossover ended.
This has made the production extra challenging, as shooting for Season 5 started way before the crossover was filmed. “It was shot out of order,” Shimizu said of the new season. “So we have to know the sequel to everything that was going to happen in Crisis before we had even written Crisis. So that was very tricky for us.”
Crisis on Infinite Earths will conclude with a special episode of Legends of Tomorrow on Tuesday, January 14th at 9 p.m. ET. Season 5 of Legends of Tomorrow will then officially premiere the following Tuesday, January 21st in the same time slot.
The CW dropped the first official trailer for Legends of Tomorrow Season 5 last week, and by the looks of things, next season could be the show’s quirkiest run ever.
At the end of the Season 4 finale, the Waverider crew rocketed to fame after publicly saving the world from the demon Neron. And since the Legends are not used to being popular, this change in status quo will result in a rather hilarious Season 5 opener.
“We’re interested in how fame affects people [in Season 5],” executive producer Phil Klemmer told Entertainment Weekly in July. “I really like the idea of tempting the Legends, that they’re still susceptible. Even though they sort of get over themselves after [the first episode,] I think you could always be tempted by the promise of getting to be a singular franchise-driving superhero.”