Legion: Lauren Shuler Donner Says Series Creator Threw Out The Comics

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner has guided the X-Men franchise from its humble beginnings in 2000 to the media powerhouse it is today. After 10 movies she turned to writer Noah Hawley to bring the first X-Men television series to life, which is unlike anything she’s ever worked on.

ComicBook.com caught up with Shuler Donner at San Diego Comic-Con where she revealed what makes Legion unique from the X-Men movies and how Hawley has impacted the franchise. Watch the clip above!

“This is all coming out of Noah’s head,” Shuler Donner explained. “Yes, we’re a part of the X-Men universe, but obviously we’re our own Astral Plane, we’re our own world. And because we’re coming out of one man’s head, it’s more following that than following comics and knowing ‘this is going to happen, and that’s going to happen,’ because it’s not. Who knows what’s going to happen? And that’s what makes it interesting.”

Asked how much of an influence the comic books have on the series, Shuler Donner simply responded “not so much.”

“[Hawley] said ‘I’m taking the comics and throwing them out,’” Shuler Donner said. “I mean, he knows them. It’s not like he never read them. He does understand them. But he’s freer to create his own story.”

Some fans might be disappointed with Legion‘s plots and characters minimal link to the source material or that it doesn’t crossover into the X-Men movie universe. But the show has been a critical hit despite the loose references to the franchise.

Hawley has proven himself capable of telling a great story for television, as evidenced by the many Emmy nominations he received for Fargo. Shuler Donner seems more than happy to let Hawley craft his own story as he see fits, which makes for a much more entertaining series.

Legion will return for Season Two in 2018.

David Haller, a.k.a. Legion, is a haunted man with power beyond comprehension. His power does not come free, but at the steep cost of David’s mind. Plagued by numerous split personalities – each commanding a different aspect of his power – David is trying to find his way back to sanity. But he’s getting tired and about to give up until he meets the girl of his dreams.