FX's "Legion" will officially be a world apart from Fox's "X-Men" universe. Executive producer Lauren Shuler Donner confirmed to IGN that the show does not take place in the larger cinematic universe established by the “X-Men” film franchise. Instead, the series -- which was developed by “Fargo” television series creator and writer Noah Hawley -- will exist as its own, unconnected story.
This comes as something of a surprise, especially considering that Matt Nix’s “X-Men” television series was recently confirmed as taking place in the film universe. So what is the reasoning for one series adopting the film canon while the other does not? According to Donner, who has served as producer on several “X-Men” films, it allows for greater creator freedom on the part of Hawley and his team.
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“Matt [Nix]’s is much more a part of just the world in terms of there are mutants, mutants are hated and there are Sentinels -- though very different from what we’ve seen before," she explained. "You feel like you're here in the ‘X-Men’ world. With ‘Legion,’ we’re our own universe. It gives Noah [Hawley] the freedom to do what he wants to do. Because we play with so many different timelines, and we rebooted and not really rebooted and all that, we felt like, OK, we're going to throw it out there and hope the fans accept it.”
"We're making it separate. We're our own world," she emphasized. "We're in a different world."
According to Donner, “Legion” will occasionally play with the idea of a larger mutant community, but the story will be self-contained. Viewers won’t be seeing Patrick Stewart or James McAvoy making any guest appearances when the series debuts. If “Legion” touches on Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, it will be in its own way and at its own pace.
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Legion, whose real name is Davis Charles Haller, was first introduced to the Marvel roster back in 1985, and was created by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz. The character is a multi-powered mutant afflicted with dissociative identity disorder; Legion’s various personalities each control a different power. The cumulative effect is that Legion is considered an Omega-level mutant (that is to say, incredibly powerful). Legion is considered an antihero in the comic books, as his various personalities make him unpredictable and susceptible to manipulation. He is also the son of X-Men leader Dr. Charles Xavier, though such a detail will likely be one of the biggest things missing from the upcoming FX series.
Starring Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller and Mackenzie Gray, "Legion" will premiere February 8, 2017 on FX.