Posted in: Fox, TV | Tagged: fox, Matt Nix, the gifted, tv, x-men

The Gifted: Matt Nix Discusses That Weird Timeline The Show Existed In

The Gifted really felt like the little X-Men show that really, really tried. The show had a lot of things limiting it right out of the gate, such as then network Fox not really giving them the budget they needed for an X-Men show to the character limitations that were placed on the creators. That being said, the show did get a pretty good season one and got renewed for a second. However, during that second season, the show lost what little momentum that it had, and it couldn't afford to lose any ratings. So despite ending on one hell of a cliffhanger that was setting up a really interesting season 3, the show was canceled in 2019. This was right during the Disney-Fox acquisition and there just wasn't enough fan demand for Disney to renew the show either. Showrunner Matt Nix is currently working with Disney on the new Turner & Hootch show on Disney+ and was recently interviewed by ComicBook.com. He was asked if he had any interest in returning to the world of Marvel.

"Yeah. I'd definitely be into that. I think it's a pretty separate world, you know what I mean? They've got their thing they're doing. The other thing is in The Gifted, we were really doing this offshoot. I've never said this in an interview, I think it's fine to say now. Originally the whole thing for that show was you must stay out of the way of the movies. You are not allowed to touch on the movies. The original thing in that show was I was just the guy that came in with the best idea for staying out of the way of the movies, which was, 'Hey, remember in Days of Future Past how they go back in time and then there's an anti-mutant dystopia in the future. Then in this time it looks like our time. Just give me the years in between. Then my show will get erased. It doesn't matter.'"

Nix went on to talk about the various limitations that were placed on him during the show and how he wasn't even able to mention certain characters. Apparently, Fox was very worried about a crossover with The Gifted and the movies. The unique little pocket of time that they found for the show fit, but even then, he couldn't mention Magneto despite having Lorna Dane, aka Polaris, as a main character, and she is a daughter of Magneto.

He continued, "'It doesn't touch your movie timeline because it's the timeline you erased. Just give me that and then I'll do that. I'll sort of show how mutants came to be oppressed and then I can stay out of the way of the movies.' They were like, 'All right, sounds good. You are not allowed to say the word Magneto' and I was like, 'But the daughter of Magneto's in the show' and they were like, 'That's right. Don't even say anything that rhymes with Magneto.' Wouldn't they know about Wolverine? Maybe, but they never say the word ever." Nix added, "That was just a very different task. That was a very different world than the current Marvel world which is all about integration with the movies. I think that's way better. I think it's a way better way to be."

There is something amusing about the idea of Fox trying to keep the movies separate from The Gifted since the X-Men were limiting to the finish line in 2019 and hadn't had a truly great movie in years. If anything, The Gifted should have been ashamed of any association with the dumpster fire that was X-Men: Apocalypse and the massive letdown that was X-Men: Days of Future Past. 

Action-adventure family drama THE GIFTED, from Marvel, tells the story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.

Created by Matt Nix, FOX's The Gifted stars Stephen Moyer, Amy Acker, Natalie Alyn Lind, Percey Hynes White, Sean Teale, Emma Dumont, Jamie Chung, and Blair Redford. Seasons one and two are currently streaming on Hulu.

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