After an intense round of episodes, the first season of FX's
Legion will come to a close this week. While the series has been a departure from what many might expect from an
X-Men television show, last week's episode embraced its comic-related roots with the reveal that the Devil with Yellow Eyes/Lenny Busker is the menacing Marvel villain,
Shadow King, along with the expected confirmation that David is the son of
Professor Charles Xavier (though he wasn't mentioned by name).
With the series confirmed for a second season and the premise now established, one might think that the series could dive deeper into a comic-inspired storyline. However, showrunner Noah Hawley plans to tell David's story his own way, though he doesn't rule out familiar elements for fans along the way.
“I think as we do with Fargo, I think fans who are really familiar with the at world, they really appreciate certain connections and a sense of being rewarded for knowing the stories so well,” Hawley told media outlets in a conference call (via
CBR).
“But at the same time, my goal was always to sort of use this character as a way to have a conversation and tell a story that was my story, that was interesting to me, and to try to get at the heart of what this character is and [what] this journey is for him, not literally sort of reenacting issues of the comic book, or storylines from the comic book. So, I don’t think you’ll see the show suddenly look to the comics for storylines,” Hawley added,
“but you may see ideas or characters or images that are familiar to you.”
As for a eventual appearance from David's father, Hawley cautioned that while it's a story topic that will be further addressed, fans probably shouldn't expect Xavier to show up any time soon.
“I think that’s something we’re definitely going to approach,” he told reporters.
“It’s a creative conversation, but it’s also a sort of corporate conversation, you know, on some level, in terms of the movie studio and their relationship to the X-Men and the characters they want in the movies and want to protect potentially. And were we to want to have Professor X on the show, or even Patrick Stewart on the show, James McAvoy or one of those actors, is a conversation both with the actor and with the studio. So, I don’t know, I haven’t really dived into that quandary yet, but certainly I need to start thinking about it.”
Legion's first season concludes
March 29, 2017.