Yahoo News Legends of Tomorrow star will play new character in s4
The departure of the character Amaya from DC's Legends of Tomorrow was followed swiftly by the news that her portrayer Maisie Richardson-Sellers would be sticking with the show. So how does that work?
Amaya / Vixen decided to leave the Legends and return to her home village of Zambesi, at her proper point in time, at the close of the show's third season.
But it was revealed today (July 22) at San Diego Comic-Con that Richardson-Sellers will play a new character in the upcoming fourth season - a "rebel trickster" named Charlie, who originates from a different dimension.
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As the just-released trailer for the new season reveals, all manner of entities escaped into our world when the Legends decided to free Mallus from captivity. Including, it turns out, Richardson-Sellers' "edgy" new character.
"We just started [filming] episode two, so I have yet to start filming myself," the actress told media including Digital Spy at SDCC. "But it's coming up soon.
"I'm playing a new character called Charlie, and she is a magical fugitive. She's a bit of a rebel trickster, a bit of an anarchist, this punk rock kid. The Legends stumble upon her and [have to] decide whether she is a friend or a foe.
"Her journey throughout this season is, can she join, or will she actually join but undermine and continue to have her naughty ways?"
One major difference between Amaya and Charlie is that the latter character will speak with an accent closer to Richardson-Sellers' own. "I'm British! But a little more rough... it's not cockney, but more down that road. Just cheeky!"
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Explaining the decision to write out Amaya and introduce Charlie, Legends of Tomorrow showrunner Phil Klemmer said: "We came up with the idea for the character [of Amaya] before we ever met the performer - and then you meet her and she's young and full of life and spunky and cool and crazy.
"But we made her a lady from 1942, who's a member of the Justice Society of America, and she's got to worry about her legacy... she's got to do all this hand-wringing. We gave her so many really not fun things to have to wrestle with.
"So our challenge was, how can we give Maisie the opportunity to have the most fun this season, to free her of all obligations. She actually has more in common with Rory (Dominic Purcell) this season than anybody else."
"It's so fun, it's such a relief!" Richardson-Sellers said. "I love Amaya, but I definitely think with the weight of her destiny and everything that was happening, it was time for her to go home. Now I get a new chance... and I don't have to be so good!"
Of course, the arrival of Amaya's doppelgänger is sure to have a big impact on Nate (Nick Zano), who was left heartbroken by his beloved's decision to leave him and return home. "It's definitely going to open some wounds," Richardson-Sellers hinted. "And I think because Charlie is a trickster and loves playing people, she might take advantage of that."
So with Charlie on board the Waverider, have we definitely seen the last of Amaya? Not necessarily. Richardson-Sellers revealed that there have been discussions about her old character returning and running into her double.
"We've spoken about it. I'd love to see what they make of each other. Anything's possible on this show!"
The fourth season of Legends of Tomorrow will launch October 22 on The CW in the US. The series airs on Sky One in the UK.
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