FX’s LegionOpens in a new tab is a bonkers mind-trip of a show, but if you thought you were hallucinating a certain famous voice in that season two premiere, don’t fret! You’re not falling into some David HallerOpens in a new tab rabbit hole, but were indeed hearing the voice of Jon HammOpens in a new tab narrating the episode. And it’s not some one-off gig: it looks like Hamm is sticking around.
According to an interview with The WrapOpens in a new tab, Legion creator Noah HawleyOpens in a new tab met Hamm last year about a potential movie project and on a whim asked in an email if he’d be interested in the narrator role. Hawley wanted someone with “a very iconic voice” and thought Hamm would be perfect for the part. Evidently, Hamm was immediately on board.
Hawley wanted to include a narrator to further explore the issue of mental illnessOpens in a new tab, a major theme throughout season one. “We throw around the word ‘delusion’ or ‘delusional’ a lot,” Hawley told The WrapOpens in a new tab, “and I thought, ‘well, let’s unpack that and really understand it.'”
In the season two premiere, Hamm narrates a sequence that likens a delusion to any other legitimate idea, using chicken eggs as a metaphor: one egg hatches one healthy chick, while the other hatches a black and diseased chick. That same sequence also discusses a man whose idea that his right leg isn’t his real leg turns into a delusion, and he eventually cuts his leg off. Hamm’s narration reads:
“You see, an idea alone isn’t enough. We have ideas all the time — random thoughts and theories. Most die before they can grow. For a delusion to thrive, other, more rational ideas must be rejected, destroyed. Only then can the delusion blossom into full-blown psychosis.”
We can expect the notion of idea vs. delusional to play into the rest of this season. How, exactly, remains to be seen, as does Hamm’s involvement.
Did you recognize Jon Hamm’s voice in the Legion premiere?
Image: AMC
More mutating fun!
- Read our reaction to Legion‘s season two premiereOpens in a new tab!
- Could John Krasinski and Emily BluntOpens in a new tab join the Fantastic Four?
- Will Marvel’s Extermination streamline the X-Men universeOpens in a new tab?
