FX’s Legion has been critically acclaimed for being a truly unique slice of the Marvel universe. Part of that comes from the fact that the mind-bending series has cultivated its own corner of the X-Men franchise and has never been as keen to feature references and connections to the wider world as most other superhero TV series do.
At the Legion panel at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, a fan asked producer and head of Marvel Television, Jeph Loeb if there were any more juicy X-Men easter eggs planned for the confirmed third season. Loeb responded by warning those in attendance not to expect to see a whole lot, as the needs of the story being told by showrunner Noah Hawley come first.
“We never want to do Easter Eggs as if we are running an Easter Egg farm. We want to do things that Noah [Hawley] feels are right for the story.”
Despite what Loeb says being true, Legion does have one massive connection to the mainstream X-Men universe: David Haller, as played by Dan Stevens, is the son of Professor Charles Xavier. As such, fans are always wondering if either Patrick Stewart or James McAvoy could turn up for a cameo but, as Hawley has previously revealed, there would be multiple legal and contractual hoops that his team would have to jump through for this to happen.
When Legion does include easter eggs, though, they tend to be all the more exciting for how rare they are. Season 1, for instance, featured a glimpse of the Professor’s iconic wheelchair in a flashback, while season 2 saw the Shi’ar Empire name-checked, the alien race from the comics that even the movies haven’t got around to including yet.
Anyone who’s seen Legion season 2 will know that the show’s about to carve out its own direction in season 3, as David has turned to the dark side and learned that he’s destined to end the world with his uncontrollable, god-like powers. Maybe his old pops will drop by to help sort him out, though Loeb’s comments don’t make it sound like this is very likely to happen.