Marvel And Fox To Collaborate On Two X-Men TV Series

Like arch-nemese in a comic book suddenly teaming up for the greater good, Marvel and Fox have joined forces for the greater good of all comic book fans. Just days after New York Comic Con, Twentieth Century Fox and Marvel announced that they are going to collaborate on not one, but two different X-Men television shows.

This sort of union is a huge step forward for not only the two studios, but fans as well. While Marvel continues to lead the way in terms of films and TV shows based on the comics and their characters, Fox has struggled to gain ground. The upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse looks to give Fox a big bump in the film game, but this collaboration is going to be a seriously significant move for its foray into television.

According to the release, there are two separate shows in the works, taking place in significantly different time periods. As of now, the two series are tentatively titled Legion and Hellfire. Legion is slated to air on FX, while Hellfire is set to air on Fox.

The premise of Legion, as we understand it now, is based on the story of Marvel character Legion, also known as David Haller. In the comics, Haller is the long lost son of Charles Xavier and a powerful mutant. Additionally, in the comics Haller is quite insane, possessing multiple personalities. Each of these personalities controls one of his specific powers.

Legion is being created and produced by John Cameron and Noah Hawley. These are the same guys who brought us all the dark, twisted fun that is Fargo. Optimistically, if they can bring that same great storytelling and character development to Legion, this show has the potential to be great.

The other show, slightly behind on the production calendar, is Hellfire. This show ties more closely to the X-Men films, as it connects to the popular comic story arc of the Hellfire Club. This was touched on in X-Men: First Class, and this hints that at least this show will take place in the same universe as the films.

Hellfire is to be set in the 1960’s, and follows the story of a young agent that has discovered the Hellfire Club and its members’ plot to take over the world. His mission turns to infiltrating the club and foiling their plans. With Hellfire set to air on Fox, it looks to be more family-friendly than Legion, but should focus heavily on the a secret agent angle with a heavy dose of the White Queen, Emma Frost.

These series could also mark a huge step toward full inclusion by the Fox Marvel properties within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At this point, there is nothing but positives that can come from this partnership. Marvel is winning on television on multiple fronts with Daredevil on Netflix as well as Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter on ABC.

The upcoming Jessica Jones show set to launch on Netflix further reinforces the power of comics on the mainstream. The X-Men have a huge fan base that have been left out the TV mix for too long. Lining this up with what looks to be the best X-Men movie yet makes perfect sense.

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