Legends of Tomorrow star Dominic Purcell announced yesterday that he’d be departing the CW show, and had some combative words about his exit. These comments included surprisingly candid criticism of the studio behind the series, in this case Warner Bros., and their perceived lack of loyalty. However, Purcell has now deleted his original Instagram post, instead making a more conciliatory statement.
Claiming that his idea was to mess with press outlets, his new message is as follows:
‘WHY SO SERIOUS…….. MY last post I needed a laugh. It was a joke and The press went nuts and yes I will always fuck with the press it’s fun watching them be click-bated— Truth is yes I am leaving @cw_legendsoftomorrow but will come back periodically, it’s a handshake deal with my boss Phil Klemmer. I don’t have a beef with studio @warnerbrostv. I don’t have a beef with anyone except myself haha. …Shit woke up this morning like I’d caused mass #riots …. emails , phone calls. But what a genius negotiation move. I am loved…… ps. My dear friends the press got a great one for ya next week. Ya gonna love it.”
Whether or not he was actually joking, it does seem that Purcell is open to returning to Legends in a guest role, after having played Mick Rory/Heat Wave for the previous five seasons, and before that on The Flash. The actor is set to leave after this upcoming group of installments, which will arrive on May 2nd, but could turn up in a seventh block. After all, Legends is one of several DC series to have already been confirmed to run into 2022.
As jokes go, it’s definitely a strange one, but Purcell seems to have enjoyed the media attention it created, and presumably isn’t just beating a hasty retreat to prevent damage to his career. Burning bridges with The CW and WB also appeared to be an odd choice, given that the 51-year-old has worked with them for the last six or seven years.
Still, it’s an unusual time for the Arrowverse right now, from talk of Batwoman‘s falling ratings, to speculation that The CW want to up the budgets of its collection of superhero dramas to compete with the glossier fare on Disney Plus and HBO Max. Whatever Dominic Purcell’s intentions with his messages, then, we can expect to see more of the always-entertaining Mick Rory in Legends of Tomorrow for the immediate future.