'Legends of Tomorrow' season 3 premiere date, news: Rip Hunter confirmed to return for next installment

Promotional image for "Legends of Tomorrow" season 2.Facebook/CWlegendsoftomorrow

Although Capt. Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) was last seen leaving the team in "Legends of Tomorrow," fans have not seen the last of the Waverider's former captain.

The CW's superhero drama concluded its second season last week with the death of some main characters. One of the most emotional departures in the hour was that of Rip, who was last seen packing a bag and exiting his ship. He decided to go because he felt the team could be left in the hands of Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), who proved to be a good leader in previous episodes. While the finale made it look like Rip was leaving for good, it turns out fans will not have to say farewell to the British captain yet.

Executive producer Marc Guggenheim recently spoke at Entertainment Weekly's SiriusXM radio show "Superhero Insider" and he confirmed that Rip will be in the next installment. "We've got plans for Rip for next year," he stated. "It's just in a different capacity than him being a member of the team."

At the end of season 2, the Legends created a time storm and were stuck in 2017 Los Angeles. Time seemed to fold in on itself, leading to a horde of dinosaurs and buildings from different eras scattered around the city. Since the series is connected to other superhero shows on the network, fans have wondered how the event will affect other DCTV programs like "Arrow" and "The Flash."

Guggenheim went on to explain that the writers are imagining time as a jigsaw puzzle. "The fact that we broke time, part of that was a desire on our part to go even crazier in season 3," the EP said, adding that breaking time opened up more possibilities for plot twists.

"There will be an explanation in season 3 about why you're not seeing dinosaurs running through Central City," Guggenheim further mentioned. "We'd rather keep the shows separate in that regard."

The third season of "Legends of Tomorrow" is expected to premiere in 2017 or 2018 on The CW.