‘The Gifted’ EP Matt Nix Talks Bringing ‘X-Men’ Universe To Television

“The Gifted” executive producer Matt Nix was very much interested in bringing the “X-Men” universe to television that he did everything he could to pitch his idea.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Nix said that he used Prezi, a cinematic version of PowerPoint to send his messages and concepts across. “The biggest thing I did was I just basically made superheroes. I would find actor’s photos, and my assistant and I would digitally alter photos to show their power and what they would look like. The other thing was I really needed to try to explain how this is where the movies and comic books have gone, and this is where we fit in that world, and so images really helped with showing that,” he said.

Nix ultimately decided that the series should follow on family instead of simply putting two groups of mutants who will be fighting against each other. The exec didn’t also want the television show to be very similar or different to the movies because they have been well received by the viewers.

“That’s what led me to starting with a family; we really get to see the development of powers and perspectives, and we give audiences who maybe aren’t really familiar with the ‘X-Men’ a window into this world,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nix also talked about the mutants that will be featured in “The Gifted.” Some of the characters like Blink and Polaris were shown in the “X-Men” franchises. But an original character like Eclipse will also be introduced. In the series, Blink will be played by Jamie Chung, while Polaris and Eclipse will be portrayed by Emma Dumont and Sean Teale, respectively.

“I guess I liked the idea of a mix of characters who are familiar to the fans and ones who are not, so we’re not going in and saying, ‘This has nothing to do with anything.’ Part of it was motivated by what I was excited about. I was excited by ‘Days of Future Past,’ so I was like, ‘Can I have Blink?’ and they were like, ‘Yup!’ I think it sends a message about what kind of show we’re trying to do,” he explained.

“The Gifted” Season 1 will premiere on Fox on Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. EDT right after “Lucifer” Season 3.