As we’ve been hearing about for awhile, FX is getting into the superhero game — potentially — with a very unique project.Fargocreator (of the TV series, that is)Noah Hawleyhas been developing a series calledLegion, whose story ties in with the X-Men universe, but it will stand on its own. Unlike the MCU’s ties toAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.and even (more tangentially)DaredevilandJessica Jones,Legionseems like it will more of a spiritual brother to that otherwise connected world.
We’ve gotten a few updates in the last few months about the series shooting its pilot, and castingDownton Abbey’sDan Stevensin the lead role alongsideAubrey PlazaandJean Smart, but FX still hasn’t committed to the series yet. Though the network has been providing some of the best and often experimental series on TV,Legionseems like it could be its boldest entry yet. But withPreacherfinding its place on AMC, maybe FX will take a chance on it after all.
Vanity Fair has written up a soppy love letter to Hawley, the entirety of which you can readhere, but for our purposes let’s focus on theLegionparts. VF notes thatLegionwill be much more pared-down than other superhero series, and that it will diving into Legion’s mental illness and dissociative identity disorder — each one of his personas controls a different superpower. And when it comes to how he wants to portray that, Hawley wants to get positively Lynchian:
“I always feel like the structure of a story should reflect the content of the story. If the story, as in this case, is about a guy who is either schizophrenic or he has these abilities, i.e., he doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not real, then the audience should have the same experience.” Hawley says he’s aiming for a “more existential exploration” and “surreal or dreamlike quality where it’s not just about running and kicking. 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.”
Hawley went on to explain,
“What is it really like to hear voices or to be able to move things with your mind or to think you may move things with your mind, but you’ve been hospitalized and they’ve been talking you out of the idea that you can actually move things with your mind. If there’s one thing that television doesn’t really do, and has never really done, is to tell a surreal story.” He continues, “I would have loved to have been in the room with the ABC executives when they watched David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive TV pilot. You know that had to be a long silence after that thing stopped.”
Hawley has bought a lot of good will at FX, but you can see why such an experimental take might give them pause with how or if to continue with it past the pilot. Being indulgent with a favored son didn’t work out so well for them withKurt Sutter’sBastard Executioner, and they surely want to get something as high-profile asLegionright.
Hawley wrote the pilot and serves as executive producer alongside Kinberg,Lauren Shuler Donner, andBryan Singerof theX-Menuniverse, with Marvel’sJim ChoryandFargoEPJohn Cameronalso onboard as executive producers. With FX not yet moving forward on the project, the initial 2016 premiere date seems in doubt, with 2017 more likely if it is picked up. For now, you can check out some of our recentLegionstories below, and let us know your thoughts on the project.
