During an interview with TheWrap, Legion creator Noah Hawley revealed he considered enlisting Patrick Stewart to reprise his role as Professor X on the series.
The third and final season of Legion introduced David’s father, Charles Xavier/Professor X, to the series after having only hinted at the character in previous years. However, this live-action version of Professor X was played by Game of Thrones alum Harry Lloyd instead of Patrick Stewart.
Legion creator Noah Hawley explained that while they considered casting Patrick Stewart, who portrayed the older Professor X in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men movies, they ultimately decided the series had established its own alternate reality and warranted a younger version of the character:
“We’re going to have to meet [David’s] parents eventually. Nobody fought us on it. There was a question obviously about what age is he? What’s the model? Is he the McAvoy age? Is he Patrick Stewart age? Should we try to get either of those actors to do it? Ultimately, I felt like we established our own alternate reality here on ‘Legion,’ where it’s both 1964 and the future… I think I felt like the younger Xavier was actually more consistent with the timeline. But there’s something about David, if David meets his father and his father is his age, I think there’s something interesting about that.”
Would you have enjoyed seeing Patrick Stewart play Professor X again? Let us know below!
Here is the official synopsis for Legion:
From childhood, David shuffled from one psychiatric institution to the next until, in his early 30s, he met and fell in love with a beautiful and troubled fellow patient named “Syd” (Rachel Keller). After Syd and David shared a startling encounter, he was forced to confront the shocking possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees may actually be real. Syd led David to “Melanie Bird” (Jean Smart), a demanding but nurturing therapist who heads a team of specialists – “Ptonomy” (Jeremie Harris), “Kerry” (Amber Midthunder) and “Cary” (Bill Irwin) – each of whom possesses a unique and extraordinary gift. Together, they helped David to recognize and harness his hidden powers. With their support, David finally unlocked a deeply suppressed truth – he had been haunted his entire life by a malicious parasite of unimaginable power. Known as the “Shadow King,” this malevolent creature appeared in the form of David’s friend “Lenny” (Aubrey Plaza), but is actually an ancient being named “Amahl Farouk.” In an epic showdown, David and his friends battled his demon, ultimately forcing it from David’s body. Unfortunately, Farouk found a new host – Melanie’s husband “Oliver Bird” (Jemaine Clement) – and escaped. Just when they thought they’d earned a moment of respite, a mysterious orb appeared and took David away to an unknown place. With David and Oliver missing and Farouk on the loose, the team forms an unlikely alliance with their former enemy “Clark” (Hamish Linklater) and his well-funded government organization, Division III. Meanwhile, Amahl Farouk (Navid Negahban) is on a new path to attaining infinite and world-ending power.
Legion stars Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Jean Smart, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Bill Irwin, Aubrey Plaza, Jemaine Clement, Hamish Linklater, Navid Negahban, Harry Lloyd, and Stephanie Corneliussen.
Legion airs at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.
Source: TheWrap
