How TV Series 'Legion' Will Exist Outside of the X-Men Franchise
Fargo creator Noah Hawley is creating the first X-Men TV spin-off, though that title doesn't guarantee a series that will look and fill like an X-Men story. Hawley's words are as exciting as they are possibly a warning to die-hard X-Men fans, because the series probably won't be seeing film characters walking in and out to tie the two together.
HitFix asked Hawley if the show takes place in continuity with the X-Men films and where it's a world where mutants are publicly acknowledged. To which he said simply, “No, it’s not."
"It’s a little more of a fable in my mind. If you were to say, ‘Where is it, and when is it?,’ it’s not exactly clear, I think. And a lot of it is because he’s not exactly clear. It’s the world as perceived subjectively on some level. The recent X-Men movies, starting with First Class, are rooted in a time period and a world and playing with history in interesting ways. This isn’t doing that.”
Hawley goes on to explore the psyche and make-up of the show's leading man. “The diagnosis that he has when we meet him is schizophrenic. he hears voices, and he sees things that are maybe real or aren’t real, and he’s not sure.
"I want to explore, on some level, the reality of what it’s like to have those abilities in a more existential way. So it’s not, ‘You have these powers; now run!’ More in the idea that you go through your life with this identity as a crazy person, and then someone comes along and says, ‘No, actually, you’re perfectly sane, and have the abilities you have,’ which sounds like what a crazy person’s thoughts would be.
"I love the idea that even when you’re in it on the journey, there is this Alice in Wonderland quality to it, of a story within a story.” Whether the character is, as in the books, related to Charles Xavier, Hawley won't rule that out.
Legion has been ordered to series, and stars Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Jean Smart, Aubrey Plaza, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Katie Aselton, and Bill Irwin. Expect a premiere early 2017.
Source: Collider
