“X-Men” helmer Bryan Singer is no longer an executive producer on the X-Men universe-themed FX drama series “Legion” as it is ready to launch its second season.
“Bryan asked to take his name off the show, so we have done that,” “Legion” creator/executive producer Noah Hawley told Deadline following the “Legion” TCA panel.
Sources say that Singer reached out to FX about the credit removal recently as sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against the top director, including a lawsuit claiming sexual assault. He was listed as an executive producer when “Legion” was renewed for a second season in March.
Singer was one of three key auspices from the feature “X-Men” franchise who were attached as executive producers to “Legion” as well as Fox’s Marvel drama “The Gifted” from the get-go.
Singer has had very little creative involvement in “Legion,” limited to the project’s early stages.
“Very early on in the conception of the show, I met him a couple of times,” Hawley told Deadline. “He was interested in directing the pilot, but once I stepped in to direct, I haven’t spoken to him since that moment. Really, he was a name on the screen.”
Yesterday, Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn told Deadline that the network is “looking into” Singer’s status as an executive producer on “The Gifted” in light of the allegations, which Fox brass are taking “very seriously.” That situation is more complicated because Singer directed “The Gifted” pilot, which contractually guarantees him an EP credit on the series.