Dan Stevens talks a "stranger and weirder" Legion season 2 (and whether it features more dance-offs)
Inside the sophomore year of (probably) the best superhero show on TV
Legion season 1 was a blast. A weird, wonderful, mind-bending blast, but a blast nonetheless. Like no superhero TV show or movie that came before it, it had to be seen to be believed – and was arguably 2017’s sleeper hit. Twin Peaks-style sequences, silent movie homages, and, yes, big dance numbers. It had it all.
How is Legion season 2 going to top that? Lead Dan Stevens spoke to our sister publication SFX magazine about that very thing. The full story is in this month’s issue, out Wednesday, 28 March, but here’s an oh-so-tantalising snippet.
Subscribe: You can sign up for future issues of SFX for more exclusive news and features on Lost in Space, Westworld, and beyond. Subscribe now!
“Things get stranger and weirder, so I don’t still fully understand what’s going on,” says Stevens, who plays Professor Xavier’s son David Haller on the show.
With Haller trapped again at the onset of Legion season 2, that only opens up more fantastical possibilities for showrunner Noah Hawley and the team to play around with. “Are [Haller’s] powers going to be used for good and evil? And, who says which is which?” suggests Stevens, hinting at a possibly darker second season for the X-Men spin-off-but-not-quite-a-spin-off.
But one thing is for certain: among the surreal and sublime, we’re going being treated to a few toe-tapping numbers. “I really love that this show can entertain these musical interludes… It’s really going to become a feature of the show,” Stevens teases, which, if you’ve watched the show’s premiere, will know that it can boogie with the best of ‘em.
While Haller is still “very much dealing with this Shadow King” - the villain of the piece - here’s hoping Legion season 2 can double down on the beautifully bizarre. There’s no other show like it when it gets going – and (whisper it) it might just be the best superhero TV show out there.
Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
For more on Legion season 2, you can read about the plentiful trippy goings-on in the latest issue of SFX, coming to a retailer near you on Wednesday, March 28.
I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.
Squid Game creator says he changed the ending of the Netflix show halfway through: "This is not where the story should be headed"
Squid Game season 2's star Lee Jung-jae says he felt "horror" stepping back into the arena on the Netflix show: "It's a kind of feeling that I would never forget in my life"