The League’s Katie Aselton joins FX’s X-Men series Legion

EW reports that the cast of FX’s Legion, a TV spin-off of the X-Men film franchise, has added another member to its cast with Katie Aselton, star of their comedy series The League. Aselton will take on the role of Amy, the older sister to Dan Stevens’ David Haller. The outlet describes that character as someone “who does her best to remain positive, which proves difficult when her brother has spent years in and out of hospitals after being diagnosed as a schizophrenic.”

Aubrey Plaza will also appear as Lenny, David’s friend, who despite a life of drugs and alcohol abuse, knows that any day now her life is gonna turn around, which gives Lenny the likeable energy of the impossible optimist despite her rough demeanor. Jean Smart will play Melanie, a nurturing, demanding therapist with a sharp mind and unconventional methods. Rachel Keller also appears as Syd, who uses her sharp and prickly demeanor to protect her soft core, because even though it makes her a sucker and puts her at risk, she still believes in happily ever after. Jeremie Harris and Amber Midthunder also star in the series.

“It’s conceived more as a standalone,” executive producer Noah Hawley previously said about the show’s connectivity to the X-Men films. “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. It’s more just that there’s a story that I want to explore that has to fit into that larger universe, which is exciting.”

Hawley (“Fargo,” “Bones”) will write the Legion pilot and serve as an Executive Producer along with Lauren Shuler Donner (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Wolverine), Bryan Singer (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Superman Returns), Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Martain), Jeph Loeb (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Marvel’s Daredevil”), Jim Chory (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Marvel’s Daredevil”) and John Cameron (Fargo, The Big Lebowski).

The pilot for Legion will be produced by FX Productions and Marvel Television, with FXP handling the physical production that is set to begin in March.

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