FX has picked up Marvel drama “Legion” to series.
Noah Hawley will serve as showrunner, and Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Jeph Loeb, Jim Chory and John Cameron will produce the comic book adaptation.
Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart and Rachel Keller are set star in the series.
Filming begins on the eight-episode series his summer, for an early 2017 debut.
The pilot introduces the story of David Haller, who has struggled with mental illness since he was a teenager. 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.
In the comics, Haller is a mutant and the son of Professor Charles Xavier, leader of the X-Men.
“We’ve come to expect excellence from Noah Hawley and with Legion he has delivered another major creative achievement,” FX co-president of original programming Nick Grad said in a statement Tuesday. “Just as he did in reimagining ‘Fargo,’ he is bringing an entirely new aesthetic and sensibility to the enormously popular and richly represented X-Men world.
“The pilot episode is stunning, driven by incredible performances from Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Rachel Keller and the rest of the cast. We join our producing partners at Marvel in congratulating the creative team for what they’ve accomplished and are as excited as the fans for the premiere of Legion’s first season,” he continued.
“Legion” will be produced by FX Productions and Marvel Television, with FXP handling the physical production.