‘Legends of Tomorrow’ season 2 spoilers: Meet (young) George Lucas

Given the recent news surrounding Carrie Fisher’s death, it is probably fair to say that we’re all feeling nostalgic about the early days of “Star Wars.” With that, the upcoming winter premiere of “Legends of Tomorrow” on The CW may be a way to tap into some of that. In some ways, you can say that this is a little bit of a sad coincidence given the sole fact that this episode was written and put together many months before Fisher’s death; it couldn’t be more timely as a result.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Matt Angel (“Grimm”) will be playing a young version of franchise guru George Lucas in this episode, which is described by executive producer Marc Guggenheim as follows:

“Because of circumstances, the time aberration in episode 209 is George Lucas quits film school … As a result, he never makes Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark. As a result, Ray, who became an engineer because of Star Wars, and Nate, who became a historian because of Raiders, slowly start to lose their brilliance, because those things that inspired them to become who they are didn’t exist.”

Guggenheim goes on to compare this episode to the classic book Flowers for Algernon, which is probably a pretty apt way to describe this. It shows the effects of time aberrations on the present in a way that is both celebratory but also heartbreaking. It also shows the tremendous impact of “Star Wars” on everyone living today, which is a sentiment that many are echoing following the news of Fisher’s death.

We have no idea as to whether or not this concept for an episode is going to work; yet, at the same time we’re still profoundly excited to see it play out just from a standpoint of creativity. If the series can continue to find a way to tell stories that tap so directly into the present, we imagine that “Legends of Tomorrow” could continue to improve moving into the second half of its season. We already feel like season 2 is a significant step up from the first.

If you missed it, head over here now to check out one of the first promos for what will be coming up next on “Legends of Tomorrow” in the new year! (Photo: The CW.)