‘Legion’ Creator on How X-Men Spinoff Goes Where No Superhero Adaptation Has Gone Before

The moral ambiguity of X-Men characters and storylines was a big draw for “Legion” creator Noah Hawley when he was approached with the idea of creating a TV series that fit within the film franchise.

During “the initial conversations with FX and with the other executive producers of the films — Lauren Schuler-Donner, Simon Kinberg and Bryan Singer — they weren’t really tied to a specific character or story,” Hawley told TheWrap while explaining how “Legion” came to be.

“Legion” follows David Haller (Dan Stevens), a mutant whose telepathic and telekinetic abilities are diagnosed as a mental disorder.

[...] the writer and producer behind the reinvention of “Fargo” for television approached the potential project cautiously, and didn’t just want to translate a specific comic book storyline for the screen.

“My goal is to look at it and ask, ‘what’s the character, what’s the relationships , what’s the character dynamics that make it worth making?’ There’s 500 shows on the air, the only reason to make another one is if you think it can be the best one,” Hawley said.