The X-Men universe at 20th Century Fox continues to expand in both the big and the small screens. The mutant-filled series, "The Gifted," premieres in October and a new video features the season's (and perhaps the show's in general) main foe, Sentinel Services.
Mutants may be placed in different groups according to their beliefs, but they are all threatened by the common hatred by those who fear them. This is especially evident in "The Gifted," where mutants are considered as felons. Despite there being people who are kind enough to help them, they are still hunted down by a government company called Sentinel Services, who use spider drones to hunt down the genetically enhanced individuals.
Coby Bell, who plays Jace Turner of the said mutant-hunting company, shared that Sentinel Services is essentially a high-level government agency. They deal with mutant issues to mutant powers and go around operating above the law. Reed Strucker (Stephen Moyer) is his colleague, and the premiere episode shows him questioning Polaris (Emma Dumont).
Things take an interesting turn when Reed's children turn out to have the mutant X gene as well. Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) can hide her abilities, but the same could not be said for Andy (Percy Hynes White), whose powers start coming out when he gets bullied during a school function, resulting in the building almost getting destroyed.
This prompts the Strucker family to go on the run and Reed starts to question his beliefs. When Jace encounters the Strucker family, he realizes that he has to come after children. When mutants get caught, they are sent to the Mutant Detention Center where Lorna Dane a.k.a. Polaris is imprisoned.
"The Gifted" is the second X-Men series to head to the small screen, following the critically successful "Legion," which starred Dan Stevens as the titular character, the omega-level mutant and the son of Charles Xavier. It is safe to say that the pressure is high for the upcoming series, and executive producer Matt Nix is well aware of that.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nix revealed how he managed to pitch the idea of the X-Men series. Nix shared that he made a fancy slide-show presentation, with photo edits of actors to turn them into mutants which were inserted in the transitions between the slides as well as graphics explaining how it would fit into the X-Men universe, in both movies and the comics. Needless to say, it seemed to turn out well.
Nix is working with a number of people in the project. These include the producers of the films Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, and Simon Kinberg as well as Jeph Loeb of Marvel Television. He went on to explain that everyone involved in this project truly cares about bringing the mutants and the original characters to life.
Nix also added that Fox is respectful of the source material and Marvel is also particular on protecting their comic properties. They are essentially giving some guidance regarding who the characters are and how their powers work. Everyone who has worked on the X-Men movies also has their input towards what has already been shown and what has yet to be brought to life as well as what is easy and difficult in the project.
"The Gifted" will premiere on Monday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. EDT on FOX.
