FX and Marvel have released the first image from Noah Hawley’s upcoming limited series Legion. Dan Stevens (The Guest) stars as David Heller. “Since he was a teenager, David has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.”

It’s an exciting premise for a TV series, and I’m excited to see what Hawley does with the material. This is also the first live-action series associated with the X-Men universe, and it will be interesting to see how much the TV series borrows from the movies, especially since Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Simon Kinberg are executive producers on the eight-episode series.


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Image via FX

Check out the press release and first image below. Legion begins production this summer and premieres on FX in early 2017.

 

FX NETWORKS PICKS UP DRAMA SERIES

LEGION

From Showrunner Noah Hawley

Executive Producers are Hawley, Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer

Simon Kinberg, Jeph Loeb, Jim Chory and John Cameron

Production Begins on the Eight-Episode First Season This Summer

Series Will Debut on FX in Early 2017

Marvel Television to Co-Produce with FX Productions

LOS ANGELES, May 31, 2016 – FX Networks has ordered the first season of Legion, the story of a troubled young man who may be more than human, it was announced today by Nick Grad  and Eric Schrier, Presidents of Original Programming, FX Networks and FX Productions. Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Rachel Keller (Fargo), Jean Smart (Fargo), Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Jeremie Harris (A Walk Among the Tombstones), Amber Midthunder (Hell or High Water), Katie Aselton (The League) and Bill Irwin (Interstellar) star in Legion. Production on the eight-episode first season will begin this summer in Vancouver and the new series from FX Productions and Marvel Television will debut on FX in early 2017.

 

“We’ve come to expect excellence from Noah Hawley and with Legion he has delivered another major creative achievement,” said Grad. “Just as he did in reimagining Fargo, he is bringing an entirely new aesthetic and sensibility to the enormously popular and richly represented X-Men world. The pilot episode is stunning, driven by incredible performances from Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Rachel Keller and the rest of the cast. We join our producing partners at Marvel in congratulating the creative team for what they’ve accomplished and are as excited as the fans for the premiere of Legion’s first season.”

 

"Marvel Television is thrilled to not only have our first partnership with FX go to series, but working with the enormously talented Noah Hawley makes it even better," said Executive Producer Jeph Loeb. "From the first time we heard Noah's vision to his exceptional script and cast through the extraordinary filming of the pilot, we knew the series would be incredible."

 

Legion introduces the story of David Haller: Since he was a teenager, David has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.


Noah Hawley (Fargo) will serve as an Executive Producer along with Lauren Shuler Donner (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Deadpool), Bryan Singer (X-Men: Apocalypse, Superman Returns), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Martian), Jeph Loeb (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones), Jim Chory (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones) and John Cameron (Fargo, The Big Lebowski). Legion is the latest project from Hawley and Cameron, two of the Executive Producers of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® -winning FX limited series Fargo.

 

Legion will be produced by FX Productions and Marvel Television, with FXP handling the physical production.

 

david-haller-legion-image
Image via Wikipedia

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