20th Century Fox’s two upcoming series set in the X-Men universe are starting to look a little more ambitious. The Hollywood Reports writes that director Bryan Singer, speaking at the Edinburgh Television Festival in Scotland, plans on linking the series to the larger X-Men franchise, saying the shows "will relate to future X-Men movies."

Singer was referring to Legion, which follows the life of a young man who finds that his mental illness is actually a manifestation of his incredible powers, and to an untitled drama that involves a couple forced to go underground because of their mutant children. Speaking about Legion, which is due out early next year on FX, Singer said it is "part of the X-Men universe, but when you watched it, you wouldn't have to label it, it could exist completely on its own."

However, linking the two series to the larger film franchise could breathe new life into the flagging X-Men films. X-Men Apocalypse opened to tepid reviews in May, and though it was a success at the box office, it still made less than both X-Men: Days of Future Past and surprise hit Deadpool. Since diehard fans have only Wolverine 3, an X-Men sequel set in the ‘90s, and an obvious Deadpool follow-up to look forward to, the series as a whole could sorely use some new ideas to keep it from going stale.

But the most interesting wrinkle in this news is Marvel Studios’ involvement, seeing as the shop behind The Avengers is already working with Fox on both projects. If the two shows plant seeds that will flower in future X-Men films, it could be seen as Marvel having backdoor influence over the series’ next phase. Of course, Singer hasn’t shed light on how deeply Marvel is involved, so it isn’t yet clear how this arrangement will shake out.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe explained