‘Legion’ Casting: X-Men Spinoff Casts ‘Fargo’ Breakout Rachel Keller
Between Agent CarterandAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.on ABC,DaredevilandJessica Joneson Netflix,Gothamon Fox,Supergirlon CBS, andArrow,The Flash, and nowLegends of Tomorrowon The CW, our DVRs are absolutely clogged with capes and tights. It’d take a lot for yet another superhero series to cut through all that noise — and yet FX’s X-Men dramaLegionalready looks like it might do just that.
For starters,FargocreatorNoah Hawleyis steering this one. If the guy could make a small-screen extension of a Coen brothers classic look like a good idea, just imagine what he could do with a superhero saga. For another, it’s just picked upFargobreakoutRachel Kelleras its female lead. More about the firstLegioncasting after the jump.
Legionfollows David Haller, who in the comics is the son of X-Men founder Charles Xavier. Since adolescence, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals. The official diagnosis is that he’s schizophrenic, but a fellow patient opens up the possibility that the voices and visions in his head might be real.Deadlinedescribes Keller’s character as “a scrappy, optimistic young woman in her 20s.” Her name and possible powers are being kept under wraps, but their sources compare her abilities to established X-Men characters Rogue and Spyke.
Keller is best known for starring in Season 2 ofFargo, where she played Simone Gerhardt. The character became a fan favorite, and apparently she made quite an impression on Hawley and FX as well. Keller only has a handful of other credits on her resume, including the indie filmHollidaysburgand episodes ofSupernaturalandThe Mentalist.
AlthoughLegionis based on the X-Men comics, Hawley hasdownplayed the connectionbetween the show and the X-Men film series. “It’s conceived more as a standalone. I don’t want to say too much more about it on that level, but certainly it’s not constructed as a back-door anything,” he said. “It’s more just that there’s a story that I want to explore that has to fit intothat larger universe, which is exciting.”
Behind the scenes, the ties betweenLegionand the X-Men movies are more obvious. Hawley is executive producingLegionwith X-Men’sLauren Shuler DonnerandSimon Kinberg, and Marvel TV’sJeph LoebandJim Chory,plusJohn CameronandSteve Blackman. Shooting on the pilot, which was written by Hawley, is expected to get underway early this year, so look for moreLegioncasting updates to trickle out in the coming weeks.
