Dan Stevens to lead Noah Hawley’s X-Men TV spin-off, “Legion’
Apparently Dan Stevens was in Downtown Abigail or something. Who gives a shit! Dude was awesome in The Guest, and now he is bringing his talents to Noah Hawley’s Legion.
Cousin Matthew is going to be a superhero. Downton Abbey alum and The Guest star Dan Stevens has just been cast to lead FX’s X-Men spinoff Legion, alongside Parks and Recreation‘s Aubrey Plazaand Fargo‘s Jean Smart. The trio join Fargobreakout Rachel Keller, who was cast last month.
Variety reports Stevens will play main character David Haller, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age. He’s spent much of his life going in and out of psychiatric hospitals, trying hard to recover, but he’s just about to give up when he meets the girl of his dreams. He begins to wonder if the voices and visions in his head might be real, and not just a symptom of his mental illness. In the X-Men comics, David is the son of X-Men founder Charles Xavier.
Plaza will play David’s friend Lenny, who is described as follows: “Despite a life of drugs and alcohol abuse, she knows that any day now her life is gonna turn around, which gives her the likeable energy of the impossible optimist despite her rough demeanor.” The “rough demeanor” part sounds right up Plaza’s alley, but the “likeable energy of the impossible optimist” part might represent a change of pace for her.
Smart has been cast as Melanie, “a nurturing, demanding therapist with a sharp mind and unconventional methods.” As previously reported, Keller is “a scrappy, optimistic young woman in her 20s” who may or may not prove to have superpowers. Legion reunites Smart and Keller with Fargo creator Noah Hawley, who is developing the X-Men spinoff.