FX Has Ordered the X-Men Drama LEGION to Series
FX is moving forward with their new X-Men drama series Legion. They ordered a pilot episode last year that is currently in production, and the cable network seems to like what they have done so far, because according to Variety, the network has picked it up for a season of ten episodes.
There’s been a lot of mixed reaction regarding this series. Some people seem excited for it, while others just don’t care. I’m personally really curious to see how it’s going to turn out because of the level of talent involved with developing it.
Fargo creator Noah Hawley is the brains behind the series, and that guy has done incredible things with Fargo! On top of that, it stars Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, The Guest), and that guy is an incredibly talented actor. He will be joined by Fargo alums Rachel Keller and Jean Smart, along with Aubrey Plaza, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Katie Aselton, and Bill Irwin.
Legion centers around David Haller (Stevens); since he was a teenager, David has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.
Nick Grad, President of Original Programming had this to say in a statement:
“We’ve come to expect excellence from Noah Hawley and with ‘Legion’ he has delivered another major creative achievement. Just as he did in reimagining ‘Fargo,’ he is bringing an entirely new aesthetic and sensibility to the enormously popular and richly represented X-Men world. The pilot episode is stunning, driven by incredible performances from Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Rachel Keller and the rest of the cast. We join our producing partners at Marvel in congratulating the creative team for what they’ve accomplished and are as excited as the fans for the premiere of ‘Legion’s’ first season.”
Executive producer and head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb added:
“Marvel Television is thrilled to not only have our first partnership with FX go to series, but working with the enormously talented Noah Hawley makes it even better. From the first time we heard Noah’s vision to his exceptional script and cast through the extraordinary filming of the pilot, we knew the series would be incredible.”
If you’re wondering what Hawley’s vision of the series is, we recently posted an interview in which he talked about the series saying:
“There’s, whatever, 9,000 superhero stories right now. They’ve got all the running and kicking covered. I think my goal with this is to do something whimsical and imaginative and unexpected. Not just because I want to do something different, but because it feels like the right way to tell this story.”
You can read the full interview with Hawley here. If you’re interested in learning more about this series, then that’s something you’ll want to check out.
The series is also being executive produced by Lauren Shuler Donner (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Deadpool), Bryan Singer (X-Men: Apocalypse), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Martian), Jim Chory (Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil, Jessica Jones), and John Cameron (Fargo, The Big Lebowski).
With that level of talent, there’s a pretty good chance that this series could turn out to be awesome.