There’s no telling exactly how fast the Waverider from DC’s Legends of Tomorrow can move, but presumably it can hit speeds exceeding 88 miles per hour. That’s good, because the time ship is going to have some competition when the Legends travel back to the far-flung era of the 1980s, as series star Brandon Routh has just teased the presence of a DeLorean on set.
Routh uploaded the image to his personal Instagram account earlier today. According to the actor, the image is from the set of the time travel show’s fourth episode. Judging from the #halloween hashtag and the fake cobwebs adorning the bushes in the background, the episode will likely serve as the show’s celebratory Halloween episode.
The DeLorean is a reference to the 1985 film Back to the Future, which is itself about a time-travelling young man named Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, who helps his eccentric scientist friend Dr. Emmet Brown (Christopher Lloyd) test his latest invention, a time-travelling DeLorean, when tragedy strikes. Doc Brown’s experiment is a glowing success that has one unintended side effect: Marty becomes stranded in the past. Only by righting the wrongs of the past can Marty make his way back to the present.
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The DeLorean DMC-12 would go on to become one of the most iconic elements of the film, its notoriety living long past the car’s own short-lived production. The DeLorean motor company went bankrupt in 1982 after its founder was arrested on drug charges. The car is exceedingly rare, with only 6,500 thought to still exist as of 2007.
The vehicle cameo in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow likely hints at a rumored ‘80s-centric episode that would see the Legends crew travel back to the time period in an attempt to aid Steven Spielberg, one of the most talented and prolific directors working at the time. While all three of the Back to the Future films were directed by Robert Zemeckis, the films were created at roughly the same time the director was most active. One hashtag in Routh’s post, #RaysMom, suggests this could also be the episode that introduces Susie Abromeit’s character, who is the mother of Ray Palmer, also known by the moniker the Atom — Routh’s character.
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With its third season debuting on Oct. 10 on the CW, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is a production of Berlanti Productions developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg and Phil Klemmer, starring Victor Garber, Brandon Routh, Arthur Darvill, Caity Lotz, Franz Drameh, Ciara Renée, Falk Hentschel, Amy Pemberton, Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Matt Letscher, Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Nick Zano.