When it was revealed that Fox were developing a number of X-Men TV shows, fans understandably started getting excited about seeing this particular universe expand in a big way. However, just like Warner Bros. and their DC Comics properties, it turns out that these new shows are very much going to be standalone affairs set away from the events which play out on the big screen.
One series that has people particularly excited is Legion from Fargo‘s Noah Hawley. Plot details are scarce, but FX President John Landgraf confirmed at the Television Critics Association press tour this weekend that the show won’t connect to the movies.
“It’s not in the continuity of those films in the sense the current X-Men films take place in a universe in which everybody on planet Earth is aware of the existence of mutants. The series Legion takes place in a parallel universe, if you will, in which the US government is in the early days of being aware that something called mutants exist but the public is not. I wouldn’t foresee characters moving back and forth because they really are parallel universes.”
That’s a shame, and certainly a missed opportunity, though if it provides both Legion and the X-Men movies with freedom to tell their own stories, it probably isn’t the worst thing in the world (it does however mean no significant cameos). As for when we should expect to see the show on the air, Landgraf revealed:
“I would anticipate that Legion would go on the air some time in 2016, this year. We don’t tend to order series straight out the gate because I still really believe in the pilot process. We really think of it as a series. We’re already in active prep. We’re building sets, and our writers room has already been assembled. … The vast majority of things that we pilot do go forward to series. I’m pretty optimistic about Legion. The scripts are extraordinary.”
In that case, we should start to hear more casting information in the next few months, as they’ll likely be looking for Legion to premiere during the Fall. As always, we’ll keep you posted when we have more.