FX has officially announced that Navid Negahban (Homeland) has been cast in the role of The Shadow King on Legion ahead of Season 2.
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News of the casting broke at Friday’s Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, where series creator Noah Hawley said that Negahban would be playing Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King’s true identity in the comics.
The series had initially cast Said Taghmaoui (Wonder Woman) in the same role, announcing the decision over the summer at the Legion Comic-Con International panel. However, by November, Taghmaoui announced that he was no longer portraying the character and would be leaving the show. This meant Hawley had limited time to find a new actor to fill the role while the series was still filming.
Depicted as a disembodied entity able to possess the bodies of others, The Shadow King was the primary antagonist of Season 1. The character was established in the show’s canon to be the enemy of David Haller’s father Charles Xavier. He will remain in that role for Season 2, but he will now have a permanent body.
Starring Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Katie Aselton, Jeremie Harris, Bill Irwin, Rachel Keller and Amber Midthunder, Legion will return for its planned 10-episode second season in April 2018.
(via TVLine)