Now that the premiere of Legion is behind us, mutant lovers can look ahead to Fox’s as yet untitled X-Men TV series. Set to follow a human couple who have a child with extraordinary abilities and are on the run from the government, the mysterious project has received a pilot order and will be realized by director Bryan Singer.
Not wasting any time to get the casting process up and running, actor Blair Redford (Switched at Birth, Satisfaction) has become the first to climb aboard in an unnamed role. Set to play “the strong-headed Native American leader of the underground network,” theories are already running rampant placing him as either Thunderbird, Warpath or even Forge. Although it would certainly be cool to see any one of those pan out, let’s not rule out the possibility this is an original character.
Despite taking place in the same universe as the film franchise, we’re getting the feeling this show will try to exist as independently as possible. Showrunner Matt Nix (Burn Notice) had the following to say recently, which may cause fans to have less than pleasant reactions:
“It’s sort of designed to side-step questions like, ‘Where is Wolverine?’ There is a certain amount of those characters that I can use and I’m using some of those. Other characters I’m inventing but everything is invented with a nod to the existing mythology.”
If the show is to have any success and endure more than a 13-episode run, it’s crucial that it embrace the X-Men mythos as much as possible. Series such as Arrow and The Flash enjoy so much popularity because they go whole hog when it comes to the superhero genre. In other words, some may lose interest in a show that may only dip its toe into the pool when there are many others otherwise available that completely dive in.
