At San Diego Comic-Con 2017, the cast and crew of FX’s mind bending new series Legion took the stage of Ballroom 20 to discuss the show’s successful first season and preview next year’s second.
Moderated by IGN’s Eric Goldman, the panel included series stars Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Rachel Keller, Jean Smart, Bill Irwin, Amber Midthunder and Jeremie Harris, as well as executive producers Jeph Loeb, John Cameron, Lauren Shuller Donner and creator Noah Hawley.
The panel kicked off with an encore presentation of the “Bolero” escape sequence from episode seven of season 1. Following the clip, Goldman asked Hawley why he chose that particular song for the sequence. Hawley explained that the composer who wrote “Bolero” was going insane while he wrote the song, hence the song’s repetitive nature, which was appropriate for the series and the escape scene in particular.
Goldman tried to get Hawley to spill the beans on the flying pod that kidnapped David in the season finale, but Hawley joked that he hasn’t even seen the last episode. “What happened again?” Hawley said.
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Loeb discussed the unique aspects of the series, notably the love story between David and Syd. “This really is a love story between two people who physically cannot be together and if we can get that right, then we’ll fill Ballroom 20 and people will cheer.” Loeb also spoke highly of Hawley’s vision for the series. “Noah is Legion,” Loeb said. “He creates this reality and you guys are all a part of it.”
Hawley was asked about the X-Men villain the Shadow King. “One of my favorite moments from the comics was when Professor Xavier and the Shadow King sat down in a restaurant and had a psychic battle, but to the eyes of everyone else, they were just sitting there. That always stuck with me.” Donner also revealed that the character was meant to be used in the “X-Men” films, but didn’t work out. Hawley revealed that in season 2, viewers will meet the Shadow King’s true self, played by Said Taghmaoui of “Wonder Woman.”
Other moments from the panel:
Dan Stevens revealed that during the filming of the Bollywood style dance number in the pilot, he was sick with food poisoning.
Amber Midthunder described Hawley’s pitch of her character of Kerry Loudermilk to her. Hawley told her the character’s personality and ended the pitch with, “Also, she lives inside of another man. Do with that what you will.”
An audience member asked what song the characters would sing if the show was a musical. Without a moment’s hesitation, Aubrey Plaza said, “‘Ain’t Going Down Till The Sun Goes Down’ by Garth Brooks.” Midthunder said her song would be “Seek and Destroy.”
When asked what their hope for their characters is, Stevens turned to Hawley and said, “Can I get out of the orb?” Hawley: “Not until you eat your vegetables.”
Season 2 will be 10 episodes long, compared to season 1’s 8 episode count.
Finally, Hawley revealed a secret project he’s been working on at Fox. “I can say two words. The first word is ‘Doctor’ and the second one is ‘Doom.'”
“Legion” season 2 premieres in 2018 on FX.