In efforts to boost hype for its upcoming X-Men series, The Gifted, Fox has released the opening scene to the first episode – and it sure looks promising. TV Guide reported that the first six minutes of footage reveals the skills of mutants Blink (played by Jamie Chung), Eclipse, (Sean Teale), his brother Thunderbird (Blair Redford), and Lorna (Emma Dumont) as they all try to escape capture by the cops.
Blink is able to teleport (though she seems to still be learning how to control her powers), while Thunderbird seems to be able to track other mutants. Sean Teale’s Eclipse controls light, while Lorna can manipulate metal. The opening scene is tense and entertaining, immediately hooks its viewers.
The Gifted is set in the X-Men universe and centers on the Struckers, an average suburban couple that is thrown into the mutant world when their two teenage children reveal that they possess their own powers. The family is forced to go on the run from the government, and find help in an underground network of mutants – presumably, the characters we see in the opening scene. All must work together if they want to survive.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Gifted showrunner Matt Nix (Burn Notice) detailed what viewers can expect from the new series. “It’s set in the X-Men universe, but it sort of depends on how you define it. There’s the X-Men as a team, and that’s a thing that the movies do,” Nix said. “This isn’t about the X-Men. It exists in a world where the X-Men are gone, and that’s an issue for people [in the story].” Nix also went on to emphasize that The Gifted is “definitely its own thing” and isn’t necessarily tied to the numerous X-Men movies that have been made.
The exciting sliver of footage that has been released ends on a major cliffhanger, but those eager to see what happens next will only have to wait a little while longer. The Gifted premieres October 2nd at 9pm EST on Fox.