Noah Hawley’s X-Men offshoot Legion has cast the net far and wide in its search of an ensemble cast, and today The Hollywood Reporter brings word of three starry new additions in the form of Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart and Downton Abbey actor Dan Stevens.
They join a lineup that already boasts Fargo alum Rachel Keller, with the show’s primary focus orbiting around a troubled mutant by the name of David Haller. Indeed, it is Stevens who will step into the shoes of the schizophrenic Haller. Mercurial and plagued by vivid hallucinations, Stevens’ lead “has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, heâs confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.”
Plaza, meanwhile, has joined the cast as Lenny, dear friend to Haller who always harbors a feeling of optimism despite the fact that her life is all but circling the drain thanks to a drugs and alcohol addiction. THR notes that Plaza’s character has been pitched as a likeable rogue, though, which ought to make for a fascinating and entertaining dynamic with Stevens’ haunted protagonist.
Finally, Jean Smart – fresh off her season 2 role in Fargo – has been cast as Melanie in Legion, “a nurturing, demanding therapist with a sharp mind and unconventional methods.”
FX is set to fire up production on Hawley’s Legion at some stage next month. In shepherding the project before the cameras, the showrunner will be working from a script co-written and co-produced by X-Men stalwart Bryan Singer.
