Legion has wrapped up its third season, so will Legion season 4 happen? Writer/producer Noah Hawley’s twisty, surreal mutant series, Legion, has been unlike any other comic book adaptation, often leaning more into atmosphere and experimentation than intricate plotting and deep character work. That sometimes led to lumpy storytelling, but Legion was never less than visually jaw-dropping.
After David was put on trial by his friends for abusing his powers, he escaped with his cohort Lenny, starting a cult and seeking to set things right on his own terms. Legion season 3 was a time travel puzzle, simultaneously grappling with David’s past as well as the moral implications of his mission and actions of those who led him down such a dark path. David was eventually able to team up with his father, a young Charles Xavier, in the past, and with the iconic X-Men leader’s help, the timeline was reset; David then got a new lease on life, with his fate left ambiguous.
While some fans may be eager to see how David’s life would have unfolded without the influence of the Shadow King, Legion season 3 has long been planned as the end of the story. Noah Hawley had a specific, three-act narrative to tell, and that has now been told. So, Legion season 4 isn’t going to happen. David’s destiny is left intentionally vague, so viewers can decide for themselves how much of David’s tragic life was due to the Shadow King, and how much was always inside him.
There are a few factors that would likely mean this is the end of the road for Legion, even if Legion season 4 was a possibility. The show, to put it kindly, has never been a ratings champion, and the visual magic of its world wasn’t cheap. FX likely let Legion go on a bit longer than they would have if it not for Hawley’s involvement; while Legion has been more of a cult hit, Hawley’s Fargo anthology series is a regular awards season player for FX. If a story about Professor X’s mutant son can be considered a passion project, that’s likely how Hawley would frame it.
Even if there was more story to tell in a potential Legion season 4 and the ratings were healthy, this would probably still be the end, as the Disney’s Fox acquisition has completely upended Marvel’s television productions. If the popular Netflix shows weren’t going to live on at the House of Mouse, something as niche and odd as Legion was never going to have a chance.
Legion was one of the boldest, most rewarding comic book adaptations to date. It was one last feather in the cap of Fox’s X-Men franchise, which closed up shop with a couple other subversive, wildly inventive adaptations in Logan and the Deadpool films. (The disappointing Dark Phoenix was the final remnant of the worn out Bryan Singer era.) With the looming introduction of the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the advent of Marvel’s big-budgeted new series on Disney+, Legion will likely be relegated to something of a footnote in the larger tapestry of 21st century Marvel adaptations. That would be a shame, as the show went out on its own terms, and never compromised its artistic vision.
Next: Legion Ending Explained
