Legion has gone from being a curiosity among fans of comic book TV series to one of the more actively anticipated upcoming stabs at the genre as fans find out more about it. Specifically, that it will indeed hold to the comics canon of the Legion character being Professor Xavier’s son and Jeph Loeb has made the surprising revelation that the series represents the nascent stages of a possible unification of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and X-Men properties (or, at least, a cooling of tensions between 20th Century Fox and Marvel).
We can now add one more name to the series’ growing cast of characters to watch: a cast that already counts Dan Stevens (The Guest) and Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreations) among its ranks. Actor Jemaine Clement, whom many will remember from Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi’s supernatural comedy movie What We Do In The Shadows and such films as Men in Black 3, is confirmed to be part of the Legion cast too.
Showrunner Noah Hawley announced the news via Instagram (see below), confirming that the Flight of the Conchords star will become part of the series. Stevens is starring as David Heller aka “Legion,” a powerful mutant afflicted with multiple personalities (each with their own abilities, weaknesses and drives) who also happens to be the estranged son of X-Men leader Charles Xavier. Professor X will exist as part of the series’ lore, but has not been confirmed to appear on the TV show.
Expect the unexpected #legion A photo posted by @noahhawley on Oct 9, 2016 at 10:20am PDT
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As revealed in the Legion San Diego Comic-Con Trailer, the series features Stevens’ Heller as a resident of a highly-secured mental institution whose overseers believe him to be the most powerful mutant ever encountered. Believing himself to be mentally ill, the character attempts to unravel the mysteries behind which of his confusing memories (and also visions of elaborate, surreal occurances like reversed-gravity and impromptu dance sequences) are real and which are false, with the aid of doctors and therapists who may or may not have his actual best interests at heart.
Fandom interest in the series has spiked ever since Loeb began referring to it as a “Marvel show” and talking about bridges being made with Fox’s X-Men films, though at this point it remains unclear just how much Legion will have to do with either property. Thus far, it would appear that Legion is existing largely in a “universe” of its own, but that the tone and Hawley’s professed goal of looking to the original source material as inspiration will place it more in line with Marvel’s approach to adaptation than Fox’s – though both studios are, tangentially, associated with the production.
NEXT: Jeph Loeb Explains How Legion is a ‘Connected’ Marvel Property
Legion is slated to debut on FX in 2017.
