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The cast and crew of Legion made an appearance at the 2016 New York Comic Con on October 9, 2016, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. They held a panel to screen and discuss a 20 minute preview of Chapter 1, held several interviews, and had a special comic-style poster promotion.
Panel[]
FX Networks Presents: Legion – 12:30pm-1:30pm at the Hammerstein Ballroom
Get an exclusive sneak peek at “Legion” from showrunner Noah Hawley (“Fargo”), followed by a moderated discussion and audience Q&A. Inspired by the character from Marvel’s “X-Men” comics, “Legion” is the story of David Haller (played by Dan Stevens), a troubled young man who may be more than human. In attendance at NYCC will be Hawley, executive producer Lauren Shuler Donner and head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb, plus cast members including Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza and more. (from Variety, September 13, 2016)
The panel was moderated by Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack and featured Showrunner Noah Hawley (Fargo), Executive Producer Lauren Shuler Donner, and Head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb sat alongside cast stars Dan Stevens (David Haller), Rachel Keller (Syd Barrett), Aubrey Plaza (Lenny Busker), Jeremie Harris (Ptonomy Wallace), Amber Midthunder (Kerry Loudermilk), Katie Aselton (Amy Haller), and Bill Irwin (Cary Loudermilk). They spoke about the series and how it related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
No recording of the panel is available, but the media coverage below contains highlights.
Video Interviews[]
Marvel LIVE! at NYCC 2016 Part 1
Stars Jeremie Harris and Katie Aselton join Executive Producer Lauren Shuler Donner to reveal more about "Legion," coming soon to FX!
Marvel LIVE! at NYCC 2016 Part 2
Stars Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, and Rachel Keller join Executive Producer and creator Noah Hawley to tease what's in store for "Legion" when it debuts on FX in January 2017!
Marvel LIVE! at NYCC 2016 Part 3
"Legion" stars Bill Irwin and Amber Midthunder and Executive Producer Lauren Shuler Donner reveal more about the upcoming series and when you can see it on FX!
Poster[]
NYCC 2016 Exclusive Legion Poster
Media Coverage[]
Print[]
The Decider: FX Unveils ‘Legion,’ Noah Hawley’s Much-Anticipated X-Men Drama, At NYCC
Lauren Schuler Donner, who has been behind every feature length X-Men film in the franchise’s recent history, expressed her excitement for the eight-episode series. “This was exactly what I wanted because it is far away from the X-Men movies, yet it still lives within that universe,” she said. “The only way for the X-Men to keep continuing forward is to always be original and to surprise.”
Entertainment Weekly: Legion: X-Men series reveals first half of premiere episode at NYCC
The footage itself was just as chaotic as the mind of David Haller. On Legion, Dan Stevens (the Beast in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast) portrays the character as a man whom doctors misdiagnose with paranoid schizophrenia when really he’s perhaps one of the most powerful telepathic and telekinetic mutants in the world. The story is told from his point of view, so because “he doesn’t know what’s real and you’re in his head, you’re in his world, so you don’t know what’s real either,” Hawley said.
Fandom: NYCC: ‘Legion’ Pilot is X-Men Meets ‘Clockwork Orange’
Dan Stevens does a great job as the troubled, conflicted, and clever young man David Haller who will ultimately be Legion. He’s got a promising supporting cast including the hilarious Aubrey Plaza (Lenny Busker), who steals every scene she’s in.
Keller’s character name was inspired by the former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett, and in fact the trippiness of the show is in part because Hawley wanted Legion to be like a TV version of the album Dark Side of the Moon. That’s a great representation of mental illness, he said.
Joblo: NYCC 2016: FX’s Legion Panel
To sum it up, it's a beautifully shot psychological thriller of psychedelic proportions. The episode we saw was the story of a young mutant wrongfully diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and placed into a mental facility. While there, David falls in love at first sight with a haphephobic female patient by the name of Syd Barrett. And yes, this name is indeed a wink to the late Pink Flyod singer and guitarist.
Polygon: Legion is a superhero show unlike any other, but it doesn’t forget its roots
Jeph Loeb, the head of Marvel Television, was also on hand to vouch for Legion as both distinct from and part of the established Marvel DNA. Although Legion is not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, due to Fox maintaining the rights to the X-Men, Loeb sounded pleased with Hawley’s stewardship of the storyline.
Science Fiction: NYCC 2016: Fox’s ‘Legion’ Brings The X-Men To Your TV
"We live in a tumultuous time” said Hawley. “Things are polarizing. There’s a lot of intolerance. A lot of that starts inside us. The great thing about exploring this character is before he has an opinion about anyone else, he has to figure out his own shit."
The Verge: FX's X-Men series Legion will examine mutants and mental illness
The crew behind the film are very cagey about how this series relates to the X-Men film universe. Executive producer Lauren Shuler Donner said that the show "is very far from the X-Men movies," but exists in that universe. What that means isn’t clear yet.
Video[]
Max and Scott discuss the NYCC footage shown for the FX series, how it connects to the X-Men movie world, whether or not Xavier is connected, and more.