Fox and Marvel strike deal for X-MEN TV shows.

Deadline reports that Fox and FX are developing two new X-MEN universe TV dramas based on ‘The Hellfire Club’ and ‘Legion,’ a charcter who is Professor Xavier’s illegitimate son. Longtime ‘X-Men’ film collaborators Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg will serve as executive producers, along with Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory.

Fox has closed a deal to develop HELLFIRE (working title), being made by 24’s Evan Katz, Manny Coto and Star Trek 3’s Patrick McKay and JD Payne. Set in the late 1960s, it follows a young Special Agent who learns that a power-hungry woman with extraordinary abilities is working with a clandestine society of millionaires – known as “The Hellfire Club” – to take over the world. A version of the group previously appeared in the 1963-set X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, led Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw and January Jones’ Emma Frost. There’s no word if either, who have both worked on shows for Fox, will reprise their roles.

“We are thrilled to partner with Marvel to bring this world to television and build upon the Fox Logo vibrant mythology that has captivated fans for years,” said Fox Entertainment president David Madden. “These powerful and dynamic characters are complicated and larger-than-life, the pace and visual imagination are unrelenting, and the story takes place
during one of the most explosive eras in recent history.”

FX ordered a pilot for LEGION; written and executive produced by ‘Fargo’ creator Noah Hawley. It introduces the story of David Haller: Since he was a teenager, David has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he’s confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real. He’s based on the Marvel comics character Legion, the son of X-Men founder Charles Xavier.

“Legion is just the sort of ambitious story that Noah excels at,” FX’s Nick Grad said. “His adaption of Fargo for television was one of the most acclaimed television events in recent memory. It’s also an honor to partner with Marvel on Legion and to enlist such an accomplished team of Executive Producers to create this pilot.”

Source: Deadline