Producers for The CW’s popular series “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” had President Trump on their minds when they decided to introduce a Muslim character.
The Television Critics Association press tour held this week in Beverly Hills, California, briefly touched on U.S. politics when “Legends of Tomorrow” executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Phil Klemmer discussed the character Isis, who will be played by actress Tala Ashe.
“You might have heard there was this election,” Variety reported Wednesday after the event. “Not to get political, but something that we all gravitated toward in the writers room was making this character Muslim.”
“We’re all looking toward the day when 2017 is in the history book and hopefully isn’t the last day in the history book,” Mr. Klemmer added.
Ms. Ashe’s character has nothing to do with the terrorist group ISIS, or Islamic State. The superhero existed for years as a woman who draws power from an Egyptian amulet, although Mr. Guggenheim said the injection of religion into the television version’s origin was inspired by his sister-in-law.
“She was talking about how difficult it is to be a Muslim-American in the current political climate,” the producer said. “Having a character who’s a computer hacker and is from the future but also happens to be Muslim, it’s a nice, important aspect of her character.”
He added shortly thereafter that writers, artists and fans are fascinated with superheroes because “we’re being let down as a society. […] They’re looking to find a little bit of hope and a little bit of escapism that quite frankly doesn’t exist.”
Season 3 of “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” will air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET this fall
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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