The “X-Men” film franchise has a really messed-up continuity. After three successful films, the timeline sort of went off the rails with the not-quite-prequels. The most recent three “X-Men” films went back in time, then forward in time, and then finally back in time again to just further complicate things. Meanwhile, the Wolverine stand-alone movies seem to use whatever characters and storylines they want, disregarding any of the previously established continuity. Then you have “Deadpool” just making fun of the whole thing. Put plainly, the “X-Men” film continuity is nightmarishly convoluted.
With that being said, it should be no surprise that FX is ditching it altogether in developing “Legion.” Sure, the series tells the story of David Haller, a character featured in many different “X-Men” comic-book storylines, but creator Noah Hawley and producer Lauren Shuler Donner don’t want the series to be known as an “X-Men” spinoff. Best way to do that? Set the series in a whole new universe where mutants aren’t really known and there’s no Wolverine to screw things up.
“With ‘Legion,’ we’re our own universe. It gives Noah [Hawley] the freedom to do what he wants to do. Because we play with so many different timelines, and we rebooted and not really rebooted and all that, we felt like, OK, we’re going to throw it out there and hope the fans accept it,” Donner told IGN.
READ MORE: The 30 Most Anticipated New TV Shows Of 2017
While she admits that they may “touch on” David Haller’s link to the various mutants that are more well-known, it’s their intention to keep this series far away from any established continuity. She continues, “The cinematic universe will not worry about ‘Legion.’ They will not worry about these TV worlds as all. They will just continue in the way that they have been continuing, and there is some great stuff that we are developing. I can just say it’s going to be new and different, and yet ‘Legion’ and our other show, we’re not going to get in each other’s way.”
The other show she is referring to is the long-rumored “X-Men” TV series being developed by Matt Nix. That series, still not officially announced, seems to be much more in line with what fans of the comics would expect. Donner explains, “Matt’s is much more a part of just the world in terms of there are mutants, mutants are hated and there are Sentinels — though very different from what we’ve seen before. You feel like you’re here in the ‘X-Men’ world.”
From what it sounds like, no one should let the ridiculously convoluted continuity come between them and watching “Legion” when it premieres on FX on February 8th.
