‘Legends Of Tomorrow’: Gorilla Grodd Wreaks Havoc In Season 3, Episode 7

Gorilla Grodd returns to the Arrowverse in next week’s installment of “Legends of Tomorrow.”

According to the synopsis for Season 3, episode 7 of the CW series, the Legends find a new anachronism that leads them to the jungle of Vietnam and right in the middle of the Vietnam War. Ray (Brandon Routh), Amaya (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), and Zari (Tala Ashe) pose as journalists and trek through the jungle where they meet a time-displaced Gorilla Grodd (voiced by David Sobolov). The trailer for the episode reveals that Grodd is the leader of the Vietnamese revolutionaries fighting against the American troops.

Meanwhile, as the Legends try to fix the anachronism, Nate (Nick Zano) and Rory (Dominic Purcell) run into someone Rory knows, which gives a glimpse into his past.

Executive producer Phil Klemmer told IGN at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that a “non-human entity” recruits Grodd to go against the Legends, adding that the version of Grodd that will appear on the show is something that viewers haven’t seen yet even on “The Flash.” “It will be the most evolved and powerful form of Grodd,” Klemmer teased of the post-Gorilla City version of the psychic ape.

Klemmer added that Grodd’s sympathetic and sad plight will be further explored in the episode, noting that at least one of the Legends will “take the bait” for Grodd’s side of things. While the exec producer didn’t reveal the identity of the “non-human entity” that employs Grodd’s help, it’s likely that the mystery character is Mallus (voiced by John Noble) — the same ubiquitous force that resurrected Kuasa (‎Tracy Ifeachor) and Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) earlier in the season.

Fellow executive producer Marc Guggenheim previously revealed that the decision to bring Grodd to the show is part of their plan to further diversify the series.

“[The idea to add Grodd to the show] was really born out of, we did the Legion of Doom last year and that was a lot of fun, but at the same time, we were very cognizant of the fact that we had three white men,” Guggenheim told Collider at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. “And then, when we added evil Rip (Arthur Darvill), it was four, and when we added Snart (Wentworth Miller), it was five white men. So, really, at the top of our list was some diversity.”

Guggenheim went on to say that the idea to bring Grodd to the show actually started off as a mere joke. “We had this crazy idea, ‘Well, who’s to say that all the villains even have to be human?!’ It started off, as most Legends ideas start off, as a joke,” the producer said. “And then, as often happens, the joke starts to take root and we start to think that the joke has an interesting idea behind it. We like the ambition of the idea, and Grodd is a fan favorite villain. We started to look at it from the standpoint of story, and from a story standpoint, he’s such an interesting character, who cares that he’s CG?”

“Legends of Tomorrow” Season 3, episode 7, titled “Welcome to the Jungle,” airs on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 9 p.m. EST on The CW. Watch the trailer for the episode below: