FX has announced today that Dan Stevens (The Guest), Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Rec”) and Jean Smart (“Fargo”) have joined the cast of their new pilot, a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise.
Stevens will play the role of David, the son of Charles Xavier, who is described as folllows:
“Diagnosed as schizophrenic at a young age, David is a haunted man, trying to find his way back to sanity, but he’s getting tired and is about to give up when he meets the girl of his dreams.”
Aubrey Plaza joins as Lenny, David’s friend, who despite a life of drugs and alcohol abuse, knows that any day now her life is gonna turn around, which gives Lenny the likeable energy of the impossible optimist despite her rough demeanor. Jean Smart will play Melanie, a nurturing, demanding therapist with a sharp mind and unconventional methods.
The three join Rachel Keller as Syd. Self-sufficient and street smart, Syd uses her sharp and prickly demeanor to protect her soft core, because even though it makes her a sucker and puts her at risk, she still believes in happily ever after.
“It’s conceived more as a standalone,” executive producer Noah Hawley previously said about the show’s connectivity to the X-Men films. “I don’t want to say too much more about it on that level, but certainly it’s not constructed as a back-door anything. It’s more just that there’s a story that I want to explore that has to fit into that larger universe, which is exciting.”
Hawley (“Fargo,” “Bones”) will write the Legion pilot and serve as an Executive Producer along with Lauren Shuler Donner (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Wolverine), Bryan Singer (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Superman Returns), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Martain), Jeph Loeb (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Marvel’s Daredevil”), Jim Chory (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Marvel’s Daredevil”) and John Cameron (Fargo, The Big Lebowski).
The pilot for Legion will be produced by FX Productions and Marvel Television, with FXP handling the physical production.
