Trivia / Legion (2017)

• Actor-Shared Background:
  • Dan Stevens was adopted when he was baby, which is the same thing that happened to his character David Haller (who was born as David Xavier).
  • Amber Midthunder is, like Kerry Loudermilk, Native American (Sioux specifically).
  • Like Charles Xavier, Harry Lloyd was new to fatherhood when he was cast in the role.
    Interviewer: Since he hasn't met other mutants yet, how does he react to meeting his adult son?
    Lloyd: Before I read the script, I was thinking, "How's that scene gonna go?" I, myself, have a baby daughter who's about the same age as baby David is to Charles, and I was imagining that, if I met her when she's in her 30s, my first reaction would be, "I'm so glad you're okay. This is great. I'm so excited. I have so much to ask."
• The Cast Showoff: Jemaine Clement, Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, and Bill Irwin all get some spectacular dance numbers. Clement and Stevens also get to flex their vocal talents during some Battles in the Center of the Mind.
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: When the first season was airing, a Polygon article discussed fan theories concerning the true identity of the Devil with Yellow Eyes. However, it seems the author's only familiarity with the candidates was briefly checking the Marvel Wiki; despite comic book fans recognizing the mountains of evidence pointing to Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King, the article put its money behind Mojo, a villain who looks superficially similar to the Devil with Yellow Eyes but is otherwise a cackling parody of ruthless TV executives and has no connection whatsoever to the psychic realm. The article's only real justification was "Legion is self-aware, Mojo is self-aware, he's the obvious choice."
• Creator-Chosen Casting: Harry Lloyd was offered the role of Charles Xavier without having to audition, and he happily accepted it, although he didn't realize at first that he would playing the iconic X-Men character.
  Interviewer: How does it feel to play Professor X?
  Lloyd: It's great. So, I got this call in December [2018] saying, "You've been offered a part in Legion." And I was like, "Amazing!" And the breakdown was, "His name is Charles. He's a war veteran, but believes in the good of humanity." And I was like, "Sounds interesting." I didn't realize. And then, they said, "You've gotta Skype with Noah [Hawley] on Monday." So I spent the weekend watching the first season of Legion, and realized, which I hadn't done before because I hadn't seen it, that the X in the title was the big link back to the Marvel Universe. So then, I was talking with Noah that Monday and asking him questions, and he told me about [Season 3] Episode 3, and then about Episodes 7 and 8. He was chatting and saying, "Of course, Charles does this. Charles Xavier..." And I was like, "Wait, what?! Oh!" I pretended that I knew, but I hadn't pieced it together. But then, obviously, that made it even more exciting. I'm not really in the business of being offered parts, out of the blue, so it's been a wonderful adventure.
• Fake American: Englishman Dan Stevens stars as the American David Haller.
• Fake Nationality:
  • Iranian-American Navid Negahban plays the Moroccan Amahl Farouk.
  • Stephanie Corneliussen, a Dane, portrays the Romani Gabrielle.
• Flip-Flop of God: Whether or not the series is part of the X-Men Cinematic Universe. Word of God has waffled on this, with various statements that it's part of its own universe followed by contradictory information suggesting it is (or will be) integrated into the Fox movie 'verse. Never mind the fact that given the nature of the main character's powers, it could very easily be both.
• The Other Darrin: Harry Lloyd took over the part of Charles Xavier from the two actors who had previously played him: Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy.
• Production Posse: A number of cast members also appear on Noah Hawley's other successful show, Fargo:
  • Rachel Keller and Jean Smart in Season 2.
  • Hamish Linklater in Season 3.
  • Jeremie Harris in Season 4.
• Promoted Fanboy: Quinton Boisclair, who plays the Devil with the Yellow Eyes, was actually working at a comic shop when the team found him and cast him for his unusually tall, thin body proportions. As it happens, Boisclair was actually a huge fan of the Legion comics, and actually used his knowledge to help give the production team insight into his character.
• Real-Life Relative: Hamish Linklater (who plays Clark) and Lily Rabe (who plays Syd's mother Joan) are married in real life.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Patrick Stewart was personally invited by Dan Stevens to reprise his role as Professor X on the series, but he evidently couldn't commit (presumably as he was busy returning to another of his famous roles). Harry Lloyd was cast in the part.
  • In the unaired pilot, a young, black, heroic Cain Marko, aka the Juggernaut, would be part of Syd's team, as well as a Canon Foreigner named Jason Watts with Super-Speed. Both were replaced for some reason.
  • Saïd Taghmaoui was originally cast as Amahl Farouk, but he left the production only after two months. He was replaced by Navid Negahban. Said's initial casting maybe the reason Amahl is changed from Egyptian to Moroccan. But due to Said dropping out, all Arabic lines were switches to Farsi/Persian as Iranian actor Navid was brought on last minute.

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