With Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Studios, they are free to introduce the X-Men into the MCU for the first time. Mutants aren’t a new concept for the franchise, as “Agents of SHIELD” used the parallel angle of the Inhumans to show off their abilities, and Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), is technically a mutant. Until now, the home of the X-Men was on Fox.
“The Gifted” follows a family of mutants who hide from the persecution of mutants by the population. It covers socially relevant themes such as hate crimes, bigotry and acceptance. Coby Bell stars as Jace Turner, a Sentinal Services agent who hunts mutants out of hate. His background is revealed to include a girl lost in a mutant-related incident, making him the main natural antagonist throughout the series.
The series was created by Matt Nix, who also created “Burn Notice”. Bell discussed working with Nix again at San Diego Comic-Con 2017 (per Showbiz Junkies). “I still had to audition for Marvel and audition for Fox, but the fact that everything worked out and I’m here… Matt and I keep looking at each other like, ‘Man, this is happening! It’s happening! We let’s have an X-Men show.'”
