Rachel Keller cast as female lead in FX’s X-Men spin-off series Legion
Deadline reports that “Fargo” star Rachel Keller has been the first cast in FX’s television spin-off of the X-Men franchise, Legion. Her specific character is being kept under wraps for the time being, but she is described as “a scrappy, optimistic woman.” The outlet also notes that her mutant powers may have something to do with physical touch.
The first of two planned X-Men TV series, Legion will tell the story of David Haller. Since he was a teenager, David 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. Of course, comic book fans know Haller as the schizophrenic son of Charles Xavier.
“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.
(Photo credit: Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com)
