Over the course of the X-Men and Wolverine movies, Fox has done a good job at maintaining a sense of continuity across their franchises — they even fixed some mistakes with Days Of Future Past.
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But Deadpool and Logan added new wrinkles to that continuity. Now their X-Men-based TV shows Legion and The Gifted are raising new questions over the status of the shared universe.
X-Men franchise producer Lauren Shuler Donner spoke with ComicBook.com during San Diego Comic-Con and revealed that the X-Men TV shows, specifically Legion, is in fact in a universe separate from the X-Men movies that have been released thus far. Watch the video above to hear for yourself.
“[Legion is] a part of the X-Men universe, but obviously we’re our own Astral Plane, we’re our own world,” Shuler Donner said.
She further clarified during the panel for The Gifted later on when asked by a fan if the two shows were a part of a shared universe.
“I’m sorry to break your heart. No,” Shuler Donner responded, “but thank you for wanting it.”
While the X-Men movies themselves have attempted some semblance of continuity, it seems that the rules have relaxed when it comes to the various spinoffs.
Fans were questioning how closely Legion would tie into the X-Men universe, especially when the final episodes made strong allusions to David Haller’s father being Professor Xavier. The show even offered a glimpse at his iconic wheelchair.
In the pilot episode of The Gifted, a character even makes mention of both the X-Men and the Brotherhood, hinting that no one knows what happened to either faction.
But Legion, and potentially The Gifted, might be better off being unencumbered by the events of previous movies — much like Deadpool and Logan were. While it might bother a small fraction of fans, there’s much more enjoyment to be had when creators can tell the story they want.
