Charlie Hunnam is officially heading back into the world of “Sons of Anarchy,” years after making it clear that he had no plans to become Jax Teller again.
FX has ordered “Legends,” a limited series created by Hunnam that will reunite several members of the original “Sons of Anarchy” cast. But a major twist lets Hunnam keep the promise he repeatedly made about Jax: The actors won’t return as their original characters.
Instead, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Hunnam, Ron Perlman, Katey Sagal, Maggie Siff, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Kim Coates and Theo Rossi will play fictionalized versions of themselves.
According to the official description, the cast reunites at a fan convention more than a decade later before things take an unexpected turn.
“When the cast of ‘Sons of Anarchy’ reunites at a fan convention after more than a decade, the line between life and art blurs as the fractured brotherhood finds itself up against a real-world threat more dangerous than anything they ever faced in their show,” the description reads.
The unusual premise is particularly notable considering what Hunnam has said about Jax since “Sons of Anarchy” ended in 2014.
Charlie Hunnam Said Jax Teller Had Become ‘Sacred’ to Him
Hunnam spent seven seasons playing Jax, and he previously said he struggled to separate himself from the character when the FX drama ended.
While promoting “Papillon” in 2018, Hunnam shut down the possibility of Jax appearing in “Mayans M.C.”
“No, no… I had the deepest experience of my career coming out of that,” Hunnam said. “I had become that character, had become so deeply integrated into who I was, I literally didn’t realize until the day we wrapped and we put him to rest and I felt I went through a period of two or three weeks of, like, real bereavement.”
Hunnam even kept Jax’s leather vest, or cut, but said he wouldn’t allow anyone else to wear it.
“I have his cut [leather vest] and, you know, people have been to my house and asked if they could try it on and I [say] ‘No one will ever put that cut on again’ and ‘We got to respect that dude. He’s not with us anymore,’” he explained.
“So I would never bring him back from the dead for something like that… It was seven years of my life. He sort of became sacred to me.”
Two years later, Hunnam was even more definitive.
Charlie Hunnam Vowed He Would ‘Never, Ever’ Become Jax Teller Again
During a 2020 interview with People, Hunnam was asked whether he would consider returning as Jax for another project.
“I would never, ever put that cut back on. I would never put his rings back on. Not even for Halloween,” Hunnam said. “It was a very deep experience. I lived with that character inside me for years, like, in a very real way. In a way that manifested in ways that I could never even [have] imagined.”
Hunnam also pointed to the most obvious obstacle to a traditional Jax comeback: The character died in the “Sons of Anarchy” series finale.
“He’s dead now,” Hunnam said. “So there would be no ever bringing him back… When he died, he died.”
“Legends” now gives Hunnam a way to reunite with his former castmates without reversing Jax’s ending.
FX Entertainment president Nick Grad said the network quickly embraced Hunnam’s idea.
“When Charlie brought us this inspired idea, we instantly sparked to his bold and entertaining vision,” Grad said. “Charlie’s talents are on full display as a writer, performer and executive producer, leading the real-life brotherhood on an adventure that is both a love letter to the series and a fun meta twist on what fans think they know.”
