Wait, his Sons of Anarchy meta thriller spin-off? Charlie Hunnam finally explains

Time to set the record straight on this one, because FX’s latest Sons of Anarchy spin-off announcement has been raising more eyebrows than a dodgy MOT report. Yes, Legends is officially on the way, and no, it’s not what most people expected. The internet’s been arguing since day one – is it a prequel? Some sort of secret Season 8? Or is it just a nostalgia cash-in? As it turns out, none of the above.

The Premise is Properly Meta

So, here’s what’s actually happening: Legends isn’t dusting off the leather jackets for another round as Jax, Gemma, or any of the original bikers. Instead, it’s a reunion of the same actors – Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal, Maggie Siff, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Kim Coates, and Theo Rossi – all playing themselves, not their onscreen alter egos. Imagine a sort of BH90210 revival, only with people you’d probably think twice about cutting off in traffic.

The official synopsis (which reads like someone ate a DVD extra and dreamt it) has the gang coming together at a fan convention a decade after the show ended, only to get swept up in something far more dangerous than scripted violence. It’s a thriller that’s more ‘actors-in-crisis’ than ‘Sons at war’, with a storyline gleefully blurring fiction and reality. Hunnam himself describes it as a loving send-up and a bit of a genre-buster – less Hamlet-on-motorcycles, more self-aware caper with a sly wink to the audience.

Here’s how Charlie Hunnam explained the setup in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:

All I can say is that it’s definitely not Season 8 of Sons of Anarchy. It’s the same group of actors, but we are all playing ourselves, going on a mad adventure, and coming together after 10 years apart, although maintaining deep friendship in that time.

Why This, and Why Now?

Apparently, this whole mad idea was sparked by recurring dreams Hunnam had about reassembling the cast, but he’s always resisted calls to bring back Jax – even in flashbacks, prequels, or ghosts wandering the Pacific Coast Highway. Frankly, that’s probably for the best; there’s only so much resuscitating you can do before it all starts to reek of desperation. Instead, Legends is pitched as a meta-thriller and a tongue-in-cheek farewell to the show’s legacy, throwing the real-life actors into the sort of wild scenario their fictional characters might have managed with a shotgun and a bike.

Hunnam also admitted to wanting to keep the whole thing under wraps for as long as possible, but, as he told The Hollywood Reporter, the rumour mill wouldn’t quit:

My desire was to keep it as secret as possible, but there were a couple of very tenacious news organizations that had gleaned that we were doing something (laughs), so FX wanted to get out ahead of it.

Expect Satire, Not Soap Opera

If you’re trying to imagine the tone, think less ‘hardened bikers brooding in the rain’, more ‘Galaxy Quest with leather waistcoats’. The early word is that you should expect something closer to This Is the End or Galaxy Quest – actors poking fun at themselves and the long, peculiar shadow of their biggest roles, with plenty of nods to fans and not a hint of supernatural resurrection in sight.

• Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal, Maggie Siff, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Kim Coates, and Theo Rossi all return – but as themselves, not as Sons.
• The story kicks off at a fan convention, devolving into a real threat far bigger than anything they faced on screen.
• Legends leans on meta-humour, self-mockery, and a bit of affectionate chaos – think more Send-up than Shakespeare.

Legends will mark the first official reunion for the main Sons of Anarchy cast in nearly a decade.