Marvel has announced a pilot order for Legion, a new series for FX, and a development deal for Hellfire with Fox.
Legion will tell the story of David Haller, a young man diagnosed with schizophrenia who finds that he may not be living the life he thought he was.
According to Marvel, David’s life turns upside after a “strange encounter” with a fellow hospital patient, and he is “confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.” The original series will be created by Noah Hawley, of Fargo and Bones, who will also write the pilot.
“Legion is just the sort of ambitious story that Noah excels at,” says Nick Grad, President of Original Programming at FX, along with Eric Schreir. “It’s also an honor to partner with Marvel on Legion and to enlist such an accomplished team of Executive Producers to create this pilot.”
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Acting as executive producers on Legion are familiar, even renowned names in the comic book world. Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, and Simon Kinberg will executive produce, along with John Cameron and Marvel Studios’ Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory.
Of particular note is Donner, Singer, and Kinberg’s work on Marvel’s Fox-owned X-Men property — though what this might mean for the studio’s fragmented character rights remains to be seen.
But we do know that further collaboration with Marvel is underway at Fox, as the network is now developing a series tentatively titled Hellfire. Set in the 1960s, Hellfire also recalls ties to X-Men; the series will focus on a Special Agent discovering “a power-hungry young woman” who works to take over the world with the conspiratorial “Hellfire Club.”
Hellfire is created by Evan Katz and Manny Coto (of 24), and Patrick McKay and JD Payne (of Star Trek 3.) Katz and Coto will act as showrunners, while McKay and Payne will pen the pilot. All of the executive producers from Legion, including Singer, Kinberg, and Loeb, will serve the same role on the Hellfire pilot.
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“We are thrilled to partner with Marvel to bring this world to television and build upon the vibrant mythology that has captivated fans for years,” says David Madden, President of Entertainment at Fox.
“These powerful and dynamic characters are complicated and larger-than-life, the pace and visual imagination are unrelenting, and the story takes place during one of the most explosive eras in recent history. We are so looking forward to working with this incredibly talented team.”
Jonathan Davis, President of Creative Affairs at 20th Century Fox Television adds, “Hellfire is a unique opportunity to be able to go deeper with some of these extraordinary characters, but to also dramatize new characters and give TV viewers a chance to experience this expanded world in an explosive way that everyone will be talking about.”
Given the significance of these projects, we have absolutely no doubt that this will be the case.