So after Bryan Singer confirmed that the new FX show ‘Legion‘ would indeed be a part of the universe established by the ‘X-Men’ films, fan interest in the new show has been very high, especially in regards to how it will fit in with everything that came before it, and specifically, what stories from the ‘X-Men’ comics the show is trying to tell. Fortunately for all of us (in my opinion), the show is actually not going to hit any specific storylines from the comics, but will be telling original stories that take place in the universe, and be a lot more character focused. The man adapting the show for television, Noah Hawley (who is also the showrunner on FX’s ‘Fargo’) had the following to say while speaking recently with IGN:
“So my approach to the Legion material is similar, which is it’s about a respect for the world, but it’s not about telling stories in that world that the reader is familiar with. It’s about taking that character and really exploring, almost on an existential level, what it’s like… What a television show can do that a movie can’t do is it’s not just a plot delivery device. It’s not about action, it’s about character and theme and as we see in Fargo, you can really play with structure and you can deconstruct the story in a big way. Whereas in a two-hour movie, it’s ‘What’s the problem? Where’s the bad guy? Let’s go get him!’
“So, I would be remiss, I feel like, if I didn’t deconstruct this, if I didn’t really try to do something for the genre that feels personal and interesting to me and to really explore if you have a character who for his whole life has believed that he’s schizophrenic, and is now starting to think that he may have these powers, but he doesn’t know and he doesn’t know what’s real – well, that’s the experience the audience should have. To be put into his world is to enter something that’s by definition surreal, because he’s hearing things, he’s seeing things… Are these things real or not real? What can you trust that you’re seeing? And he’s stuck in this moment until he meets a girl [Syd, played by Fargo‘s Rachel Keller] and he falls in love and now he’s got something to hope for and that’s the catalyst that pushes everything forward. And, you know, I can never predict the reaction to the work. With Fargo, I could have done my best work and the reaction could have been the complete opposite. I have no control over that, all I can do is tell the best story that I can tell.”
What are your thoughts on where the show could go? Do you think it would be better if they borrowed some characters/ plots from the movies/ comics to help them build an audience? Share your opinion on the matter in the comments below!
Full Synopsis below:
Legion is the story of a troubled young man who may be more than human. It introduces the story of David Haller, who since he was a teenager, 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.
Source: Comicbook.com
