Legion: What we learned from the SDCC panel
By John Dotson
The cast of the FX series Legion attended San Diego Comic-Con today to discuss the upcoming third season of the show.
The show Legion is one that often seems like a miracle when discussing it as a concept. Everything about the way it’s made and crafted always feels ambitious in ways that are often indescribable. The show itself is the closest we will ever get to see what an arthouse version of an X-Men film might be like. For that reason alone, the show feels like a gift.
The cast and producers took to Hall H today at SDCC and tried to discuss the show without giving too much away about season 3 and from the reports it seems like they were successful. There were some solid highlights though including a magnificent mustache being worn by Dan Stevens. Also, we might get another amazing dance number in season 3 if we’re lucky.
Here are some highlights from today’s Legion panel at SDCC!
Trippy Direction
According to executive producer John Cameron a lot of the directors hired have to ask the cast and crew what’s going on in the show before filming because of the insane trippiness of the show. This isn’t too shocking considering that sometimes as a viewer trying to decipher what an episode is doing can be rather taxing before the payoff. So, a new director needing to know what a sequence is trying to accomplish makes sense. He also says they expect each director to bring their “A-Game” to the episode they are assigned.
Marvel Easter Eggs
The X-Men universe has a vast array of characters and elements that Legion could pull from if the studio wanted to but according to Jeph Loeb they typically try to avoid using them unless absolutely necessary. So, in a nutshell, don’t expect a ton of references and nods to the X-Men Universe unless it benefits the story being told. Honestly, this seems like the appropriate decision because it would be obnoxious to throw them in for no reason, especially for a show as detailed as Legion.
“We never want to do Easter Eggs as if we are running an Easter Egg farm. We want to do things that Noah [Hawley] feels are right for the story.”—Jeph Loeb on connecting #LegionFX to the Marvel Universe
— Legion (@LegionFX) July 22, 2018
Heroes vs. Villains
The panel also discussed the complexity of the blurry lines of whether someone is a hero or villain in the show. Dan Stevens touched on some of this with his character David who is constantly slipping into villain territory. He comments on this because of the direction his character took at the end of Season 2 which is surprising to even Dan himself.
"Did you know this where David was going all season?
— Agents of Geek Pod (@agentsofgeekpod) July 22, 2018
DAN: Well if you know the comics you know he has the potential to be the greatest villain, but you want to cheer for David &Syd so it was shocking#legion #LegionFX #SDCC2018 #hallh #panels pic.twitter.com/Veb86SW6Bo
Even Navid Negahban, who plays The Shadow King says it’s very difficult for him to approach his character as a villain because even he thinks he is the hero of his own story. From the reactions asking whether the fans think of him as a hero, it seemed like the crowd agreed.
.@NavidNegahban, discussing how you never play a villain as a villain, says, "I cannot judge my character... so I am a hero,” before asking, "What do you guys think?” to the crowd, who had plenty of love for the Shadow King (or at least Navid!) with their cheers. #LegionFX #SDCC
— Eric Goldman (@TheEricGoldman) July 22, 2018
Will there be more dancing in Season 3?
One of the funnier aspects of the panel was the discussion of dancing in the series. Dan Stevens made a funny quip about the dance numbers being the best way to get to know the people you work with. Aubrey Plaza also mentions that the scenes were way harder in season 2 compared to season one. Apparently, the task of memorizing the routines was so bad that it gave her nightmares.
Dancing!
— Marvel News Desk! (@marvelnewsdesk) July 22, 2018
Dan Stevens and his 'stache says that dance rehearsals are a great way to get to know people.#SDCC #LegionFX #legion pic.twitter.com/uhzbxMBNLF
“I’ll never forget. I have nightmares every night….it was really hard. But I think it made me a better person.”—Aubrey Plaza on her dance scenes #LegionFX
— Legion (@LegionFX) July 22, 2018
One person did ask whether we will see another magnificent dance number in season 3 and one of the creatives of the show said that dancing will happen if it fits the narrative. I mean, that’s cool but what would another season of Legion be like without a random dance number? I don’t want to live in such a world.
More from Comic Con
- The Winchesters stars Meg Donnelly and Drake Rodger tease John and Mary’s relationship: ‘Good TV means good conflict’
- Every confirmed NYCC TV and movie panel (so far) – New York Comic Con 2022
- According to Bill Nye, which TV shows get the science right?
- How to watch the Motherland: Fort Salem Comic-Con 2021 panel
- The Right Stuff: What we learned from Comic-Con@Home
The cast knows very little
Footage was shown at the panel but we still have not been blessed with a description of that footage. What we do know is the show will return in 2019 on FX. What’s interesting is while the show is in production for its third season even Dan Stevens knows very little about the plot and jokes about having to attend San Diego Comic-Con to get any details.
Dan Stevens is desperate for season three scoop, too. “This is how I get information about Legion, by the way. Just coming to Comic-Con and listening to the panel.” #LegionFX #FXSDCC
— Legion (@LegionFX) July 22, 2018
Next: SDCC 2018: DC releases action-filled Aquaman trailer
The producers and cast seemed determined to keep most of the details surrounding Season3 of Legion a mystery but as always stay tuned at Hidden Remote as news develops!
Legion will return on FX in 2019.