pickups

Noah Hawley’s X-Men Adaptation Legion Ordered to Series at FX

Premiere Of FX's
His name is legion. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The mutant gods have smiled upon Noah Hawley: The Fargo auteur’s X-Men adaptation, Legion, got picked up at FX. We’d known about the show’s pilot order since October, and now it appears there will be an eight-episode season debuting in early 2017, with production of the series beginning in Vancouver this summer, per an official announcement from the network. The cast is dense with talent: It’ll feature Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Jean Smart, Aubrey Plaza, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Katie Aselton, and Bill Irwin.

The plot remains vague, and it’s unclear how closely it’ll hew to the character’s depiction in the Marvel comics from which he sprung. There, David Haller, a.k.a. Legion, was Professor Xavier’s son; here, it appears he’s merely a troubled young man. One thing is clear, however: This is a big step in inter-studio diplomacy. FX is owned by Fox, the company that owns the film rights to the X-Men, and Disney-owned Marvel Entertainment has long resented Fox for not returning those film rights to them (they were sold off in the 1990s). Resulting disputes about TV rights have largely kept the X-Men off of live-action television. But today’s release makes it very clear that Marvel Entertainment’s TV division is collaborating with Fox to make the series happen. Could this be a thaw in the cold war between two corporate behemoths?

Hawley’s X-Men Adaptation Legion Going to Series