It seems anytime the heroes of the DC Universe embark on a time travel adventure, they encounter one familiar and unmistakable face, Jonah Hex, the gritty wild west bounty hunter, who rarely misses. That certainly holds true for ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ the new TV limited-run series on The CW, combining heroes and not-such-heroes from hits ‘Arrow’ and ‘The Flash’ under the guidance of futuristic time traveler Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill). This mismatched gang must somehow put aside their differences in order to stop immortal villain Vandal Savage (Casper Crump) without somehow disrupting the time stream and setting off a catastrophic Butterfly Effect.
And one of their chronological destinations? The Wild West of course. And as ‘Legends’ co-creator Marc Guggenheim expressed:
“If you’re going to do a story set in the DC Universe version of the Old West, you simply MUST include Jonah Hex in it.”
Indeed! We previously announced Jonah Hex’s appearance on the show, and now the actor portraying him has been announced: Jonathan Schaech.
This is how the character is described as he will appear on the show:
“A true legend of the Old West, a morally ambiguous gunslinger with a penchant for danger. Surprisingly, he knows a thing or two about time travel and the future, but is at home in the Wild West. He’s been battling outlaws and gangs for a while now, and advises the team to be extra careful when they arrive in the small town of Salvation.”
The reveal that Hex “knows a thing or two about time travel and the future” is HUGE! That means that the ‘Legends’ characters won’t be the first heroes from his future that he has encountered. Jonah Hex has appeared in adventures with Batman and the Justice League among others and even costarred with Booster Gold for a stint in the recent ‘All-Star Western’.
Now Jonathan Schaech stepping into the dusty cowboy boots of the crack shot ex-Confederate soldier. Schaech was seen last year in The History Channel’s western miniseries ‘Texas Rising’ (pictured above) and costarred in another miniseries set during the Civil War, ‘To Appomattox’ (unreleased), so this should be familiar territory for him!
Schaech also previously starred on The CW’s short-lived sci fi drama ‘Star-Crossed’. Most recently, he appeared in a recurring role on ABC’s ‘Quantico’ and previously on ‘Ray Donovan’ and ‘The Client List’. He has appeared in dozens of films and TV shows, but many still remember him from his big break in the Tom Hanks-directed 1996 musical comedy ‘That Thing You Do!’.
How will the unconventionally handsome Schaech look as the disfigured Hex? That we’ll have to wait to discover. As of now, it hasn’t been stated what episode he will appear in, but presumably it’s toward the end, as Guggenheim tweeted a script cover that as of this writing, they are filming the tenth episode. There are 16 total.
What do you think of Schaech’s casting?
‘Legends of Tomorrow’ kicks off on January 21 on The CW.
