Those who are familiar with the X-Men and Legion, in particular, know that the Omega mutant has a very famous daddy. Ever since it was announced that a new series featuring David Haller was in production, many fans immediately began hoping Prof. X would make some type of appearance – especially in the form of Patrick Stewart who is as iconic in the role as he is as Capt. Picard. Well, there is some good news to be had! Prof. X will appear in the final season of ‘Legion,’ but he won’t be played by Stewart. Instead, the role has been given to ‘Game of Thrones’ alum Harry Lloyd. In addition, David’s mom, Gabrielle Haller, has also been cast and will be played by Stephanie Corneliussen.
The announcement was first revealed via the show’s Twitter account:
Noah Hawley is pleased to announce two guest castings for the final year of #LegionFX
Stephanie Corneliussen will play David Haller’s mother, “Gabrielle,” and Harry Lloyd will play his father, “Professor X.”
— Legion (@LegionFX) February 5, 2019
Lloyd is best known to genre fans as Daenery’s brother Viserys Targaryen who was murdered in Season 1 by Daenerys’ husband Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa). He can currently be seen in the role of Peter Quayle in Season 2 of ‘Counterpart’ on Starz and has had roles in ‘The Theory of Everything’ and ‘The Iron Lady.’
Corneliussen may be recognizable to ‘Mr. Robot’ fans as she played Joanna Wellick, wife of Tyrell Wellick. She also appeared in the first season of ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ as Dr. Valentina Vostok (also known as Soviet Firestorm).
Due to the ages of Lloyd and Corneliussen (and that of Dan Stevens who plays David), it seems that they will play younger versions of his parents either in a flashback or in a time travel sequence (it is, after all, ‘Legion’!).
With Season 3 being the last season for the series, it looks like creator Noah Hawley will be pulling out all the stops. He has a very clear direction how the series will end saying, “I think endings are what give stories meaning” and from this latest casting, ‘Legion’ will have one hell of an ending!
While no exact date for the premiere of Season 3 of ‘Legion’ has been announced, it has been revealed that series will return to FX sometime in June.