Cover story
spin-off the run in a new X-MEN mutant children on Two parents take their
Stephen Moyer goes on the run in a new American superhero drama based on the X-men films
REED STRUCKER is a man with a problem. As new sci-fi thriller
The Gifted begins on FOX this week, the father of two is working as a lawyer who prosecutes mutant crimes on behalf of the US government. Dedicated to his job, Reed believes he’s doing his duty by locking up supposedly dangerous people who violate the law.
But he gets a rude awakening when his bullied son Andy
(Percy Hynes White) and daughter Lauren (Natalie Alyn Lind) reveal they possess their own mutant powers – putting them in serious jeopardy. To escape the government crackdown, Reed and wife Caitlin (Amy Acker) pack their bags, grab the kids and flee.
‘Reed starts off believing he’s doing the right thing,’ says Stephen Moyer, who plays him. ‘He’s removing mutants for the good of society and also for the good of the mutants themselves, who are unable to control their powers.
PATERNAL INSTINCTS
‘It’s not until his children reveal their own powers that he sees how difficult it is for them to exist in society without being ostracised or abused in some way, and he starts questioning his whole existence.
‘He’s been doing his job for 25 years. But now everything he believes in is collapsing before him. He knows that anyone who goes into those Mutant Detention Centres does not come out – so his fatherhood gene kicks in, and he takes his family on the run.’
Pursued by government agent Jace Turner (Coby Bell) and his Sentinel Services team, Reed and his family are forced to go underground and turn to a network of mutants for help.
Although the mutants – including Polaris, Thunderbird, Blink and Eclipse – are naturally suspicious of the Struckers, they offer refuge in return for Reed sharing some insider intelligence on the government’s activities.
‘Reed can help the mutants because he knows the machinations of the judicial system of the government,’ says Moyer. ‘He has inside knowledge of how that works. So he’s a valuable resource for the mutant underground network.’
Like recent FOX drama Legion,
The Gifted is a TV spin-off from Marvel’s X-men universe which has proved so popular on the big screen, and the characters of Blink, Polaris and Thunderbird have appeared in other X-men stories (Eclipse is a newly created character).
Meanwhile,
Bryan Singer, who has directed four
X-men films, directs
The Gifted’s
opening episode.
However, creator Matt Nix says the show exists in a different time stream from the movies, and fans shouldn’t expect cameos from Wolverine or Magneto.
‘You don’t need to know the
X-men to watch The Gifted,’ says Nix. ‘Some of the connections you see in the show are not necessarily connections to the movies – although there are connections to the larger mythology in the Marvel or X-men universe.’
POWER OF THE X-GENE
To help prepare for the role, Moyer turned to his wife, and former
True Blood co-star, Anna Paquin, who has appeared in four X-men movies as the mutant Rogue.
‘Anna knows the X-men world backwards,’ says Moyer. ‘She’s a big believer in doing a bunch of research, so she showed me a few places she had found some information, including all the Marvel comic books!’
Although Moyer’s character Reed doesn’t have any mutant powers of his own, previous
X-men stories have shown that characters related to mutants have the genetic potential for similar abilities. So would he like to see Reed suddenly discover new powers?
‘Whether Reed will develop any powers, I don’t know, but the X-gene can manifest itself in many, many ways,’ says Moyer. ‘So if I get the chance to wear spandex and run around with a stripe in my hair, for instance, I would be quite happy with that.’
‘It’s not until his children reveal their powers that he starts questioning his whole existence’
STEPHEN MOYER