Lauren Shuler Donner Addresses Plans For More X-Men TV Shows

Following the path of their competitors over at Marvel, Fox has begun adapting its X-Men properties for television. Noah Hawley’s Legion wowed fans on FX, and they’re hoping for another hit when The Gifted premieres on FOX later this year. But is something else on the horizon?

X-Men franchise steward Lauren Shuler Donner spoke with ComicBook.com during San Diego Comic-Con, revealing whether there were plans to bring more projects to television.

“I don’t want to oversaturate, that’s the big fear,” Shuler Donner said. “And because we’re now doing so many … spinoffs of the X-Men characters as movies, I think that’s best. I’m very happy with [Legion and The Gifted].”

Reports indicated that Fox was working with 24 executive producers Evan Katz and Manny Coto for a series based on the Hellfire Club. While the show, tentatively titled Hellfire, was ultimately passed over for The Gifted, it indicated that Fox has a few stokers in the fire regarding X-Men projects on television.

With Hellfire dead in the water, it seems like Legion and The Gifted will be the sole X-Men offerings on television for the time being, according to Shuler Donner. Of course, that could all change at any time, but don’t expect to hear about any more shows for the foreseeable future.

The Gifted will premiere October 2 on FOX.

Action-adventure family drama THE GIFTED, from Marvel, tells the story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.

Written by Matt Nix (APB, “Burn Notice”), directed by Bryan Singer (the “X-Men” franchise”) and executive-produced by Nix, Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner (“X-Men: Apocalypse,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” “The Wolverine”), Simon Kinberg (“X-Men: Apocalypse,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past”), Jeph Loeb (“Marvel’s Daredevil,” “Marvel’s Jessica Jones”) and Jim Chory (“Marvel’s Daredevil,” “Marvel’s Jessica Jones”), the series stars Stephen Moyer (SHOTS FIRED, “True Blood”) and Amy Acker (“Person of Interest”).

Legion returns for Season 2 in 2018.

Legion is the story of a troubled young man who may be more than human. It introduces the story of David Haller, who since he was a teenager, has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.

Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Rachel Keller (Fargo), Jean Smart (Fargo), Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Jeremie Harris (A Walk Among the Tombstones), Amber Midthunder (Hell or High Water), Katie Aselton (The League) and Bill Irwin (Interstellar) star in Legion.

Noah Hawley (Fargo) serves as an Executive Producer along with Lauren Shuler Donner (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Deadpool), Bryan Singer (X-Men: Apocalypse, Superman Returns), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Martian), Jeph Loeb (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones), Jim Chory (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel’s Daredevil, Marvel’s Jessica Jones) and John Cameron (Fargo, The Big Lebowski). Legion is the latest project from Hawley and Cameron, two of the Executive Producers of the Emmy and Golden Globe -winning FX limited series Fargo.