LEGION: EP Says Show Will Further Explore Some Untold X-Men Stories [FX]

Noah Hawley Explains That Legion Will Cover Untold X-Men Stories. Once Legion airs on FX in 2017, audiences will become familiar with mutant David Haller. However, Legion won’t just focus on Haller as EP Noah Hawley says that we will be exploring more of the X-Men universe.

During an interview with IGN, Hawley shared some information on the X-Men spin-off, saying that Legion will be treated as an X-Men story and will avoid retelling the same stories from the comics. He also added:

What was important to me was to treat the material with the utmost respect, and yet at a certain point as a writer, you have to tell your own story. So my approach to the ‘Legion’ material is similar, which is it’s about a respect for the world, but it’s not about telling stories in that world that the reader is familiar with. It’s about taking that character and really exploring, almost on an existential level, what it’s like. I would be remiss, I feel like, if I didn’t deconstruct this, if I didn’t really try to do something for the genre that feels personal and interesting to me.

Legion doesn’t connect itself with the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the X-Men film universe, but both studios are working together on the show. Hawley got to work closely with Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb and X-Men producer Simon Kinberg. When asked about whether there was tension between working with them, Hawley replied:

No, you know, it’s all new to me, and everyone has gotten along so well that I’m not really familiar with what the underlying issues were. But I think that what’s been very rewarding for me is that because everyone has come together because they are passionate about the material and so if there is a prior conflict, I don’t know about them.

Dan Stevens’ David Haller was introduced in the comics as Professor Xavier’s son, but the show won’t make that connection. However, the show will still make use of his abilities like telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and telepathy. These powers will explore a whole new world on the series, which Hawley also clarifies:

Would be remiss if [he] didn’t… really explore a character who for his whole life has believed that he’s schizophrenic, and is now starting to think that he may have these powers. That’s the experience the audience should have. But again, there’s the mental illness factor of it. That sense that you can never be completely sure. But because the love story is so tied into this discovery – that he’s not sick, he’s got powers – we the audience really find ourselves hoping that that’s true.

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