It was by the good graces of New York Comic Con that I got to check out the first half of the two-part premiere of Legion, FX’s new series that refashions the origin story of the titular X-Men character in what creator Noah Hawley likens to the style of “a 1964 Terence Stamp movie.†Anyone undaunted by spoilers is welcome to check out my assessment of the pilot here; for those of you hoping to go in fresh, I’ll simply say that the episode was kooky, stylish, and a good deal of fun. What’s more, Legion‘s dry and macabre sense of humor seems tailor made for the latest addition to its cast: Jemaine Clement, he of Flight of the Conchords and What We Do in the Shadows fame.
Gizmodo drew the news from a recent Instagram post from Hawley featuring Clement’s headshot accompanied by the caption, “Expect the unexpected #legion.” He joins the already impressive cast of familiar faces like Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, and Katie Aselton, along with aspiring breakout stars Rachel Keller, Jeremie Harris, and Hell or High Water‘s Amber Midthunder.
As exhibited in his Flight of the Conchords stage show and television series, black comedy delivered by way of wicked deadpan is practically Clement’s first language. He brought this gift to the realm of the supernatural in Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Watiti’s What We Do in the Shadows, and will again return to worlds beyond our own for a multi-episode arc on Legion. No word yet on who Clement will be playing, but opportunities to best exercise his comic acumen will be ample. The program is filled with psychologically unstable in-patients, underhanded government agents, and superheroes of all sorts. Which of these do you think would best suit Clement’s signature style?
Featured Image: FX
