Legion
Episode 1.1. “Chapter 1”
Written by Noah Hawley
Directed by Noah Hawley
Starring Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Katie Aselton, Jean Smart
FX Network
Air date: February 8, 2017

With comic book heroes in constant demand on television and mental illness a hit at that box office with M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, the time seems perfect for FX to roll out Legion. Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character created by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, is one of the most powerful mutants in Marvel’s X-Men universe. Real name David Charles Haller, Legion is the son of Professor X himself. He suffers from a variety of mental health issues, among them split personalities, with each personality having its own power. These include telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and time travel.

FX is the destination for antiheroes. From Jax Teller on Sons of Anarchy to James Delaney on Taboo, Legion, which is a Marvel Television production, will fit right in.

Unlike their Marvel Cinematic Universe competitors, Fox’s X-Men film universe is a bit limited. This is due to the fact that they do not have access to any of the Marvel characters other than their own. However, that hasn’t stopped them from expanding it with reboots, spinoffs, and TV series.

Legion, Fox’s first new X-Men series, will premiere in just a couple of weeks. Many have speculated that it will take place some time after the events of the X-Men film universe. With that formula working so well for Disney and Marvel, it only makes sense that Fox try to replicate it. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact, it will not take place in the film universe at all, according to producer Lauren Shuler Donner. A different X-Men TV series, however, will. Find out what Donner had to say about the show and its place within the film universe below.

FX has released a new trailer for Legion, one of the two X-Men spinoff TV series currently on the way.

The show stars Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast, The Guest, Downton Abbey) and Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Safety Not Guaranteed), and comes from the Fargo TV series creator and showrunner Noah Hawley. It follows a man who was diagnosed as a schizophrenic at a young age and has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years, when he discovers that there might be more to his health issues than previously thought.

You can watch the new trailer below.

We’re not likely to see the X-Men join the Avengers anytime soon. But the success of the X-Men film franchise has got Fox to explore other ways to expand on the property. Deadpool and Wolverine already have spinoffs set within the X-Men universe, and now the studio is looking to compete with other Marvel shows like Agent Carter and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. with their own Marvel programming.

During the summer TCAs, Fox and Marvel negotiated a deal for two live-action series based on characters from the X-Men. A few months later it was announced that Fargo creator Noah Hawley and Fargo executive producer John Cameron will be behind one spinoff called Legion. And now it looks like the show has found its cast.

According to a new report, Downton Abbey‘s Dan Stevens and Parks and Recreation‘s Aubrey Plaza will be joining Legion. And a Fargo alum will also be joining the cast as well. More on their characters below.

In August, during the TCAs, Fox was negotiating a deal with Marvel to produce X-Men TV shows, following Marvel’s success with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter, and The CW’s Arrow and The Flash for Warner Bros. Television.

Fox currently has Gotham, the Batman prequel that centers on James Gordon’s early career as a Gotham City detective and a young Bruce Wayne’s journey to becoming the Dark Knight. But it appears the studio wants more, and is going to dip into a Marvel property that they already own. A new report says that Fox has made some in-house hires to work on two TV series: one centered on Professor X’s son called Legion, and another on the villainous Hellfire Club called Hellfire. They will also be working with Marvel on these two X-Men shows. More on the story below.