A TV show based on the world of the X-Men movies may still seem like a dream, but the time for The Gifted has arrived. Set to debut on FOX this coming Fall, the first trailer for the Bryan Singer-directed pilot episode has arrived, showing which fan-favorite mutant heroes will be featured in the cast, which new children will carry the mantle of mutantkind’s next generation… and which classic X-Men villains may be getting an updated, modern origin story. And yes, we’re talking about the Sentinels here.

Singer has already revealed the mutant Polaris in a strange, plastic prison, but the trailer highlights how pivotal a role the daughter of Mangeto may play in the show’s first episode (and perhaps, first season). But it’s the story of a single family at its core, as two parents – one a doctor, the other a man tasked with protecting humanity from the mutant threat – discover their own children are among those “gifted” with strange abilities. And if you thought becoming a future X-Man or X-Woman was easy… well, the twists, turns, and attacks teased in the trailer may say otherwise.

14. MEET REED STRUCKER

First up is the fans’ formal introduction to Reed Strucker (Stephen Moyer), a man who may be one of The Gifted‘s leads… but is clearly something of a mystery. For starters, his early character description claims that he’s a District Attorney, which is the kind of job one might expect from the father of two suddenly emerging mutants. But the words he exchanges with a mutant confined to a deflated plastic bag implies that there’s more to his job than just trying typical cases in court. Judging by the rest of the trailer, it sounds like Reed may be on the front line of those hunting down mutant “criminals.”

Some extra things to point out here, as well. Previous set photos courtesy of Bryan Singer revealed that the mutant in this complicated cell is actually Lorna Dane (Emma Dumont), known as Polaris. Which surprisingly brings Reed’s morality or immorality into question. Since the rest of the trailer shows Lorna engaging in some explosive behavior, she might simply be a criminal requiring a specialized cell – and a trusted District Attorney to prosecute the crimes. Whatever the specifics, Reed’s perception of mutants is about to change.


13. CAITLIN STRUCKER

Now for the other half of the divorced parents at the heart of this story: Caitlin Strucker (Amy Acker). Not much is known about her character other than the fact that she, like her ex-husband, is finding their two children a bit of a handful as adolescence sets in, making them even less predictable (in some astounding ways, as we’ll soon see). Her clothes suggest she’s a doctor or nurse, and the setting – inside what looks to be a school principal or teacher’s office – proves she and Reed are no stranger to dealing with their kids’ school misbehavior.

It’s an interesting detail to craft Caitlin in the role of a scientific or medical expert, since the parents now seem to embody two major perspectives or factors in addressing the rise of mutant abilities. While Reed knows the societal and political realities surrounding the public’s view of mutants, Caitlin may have a different take on it, with some insight into the biology of mutation. We know that The Gifted will be set in the same fictional universe of the X-Men movies, so fans probably know about the public’s fear and paranoia of anyone deemed a ‘mutant.’ The science is a bit more open to fictional exploration.


12. ANDY’S FIRST OUTBURST

The first trailer doesn’t shy away from direct homages to the original X-Men films, with a teenage boy dragged away against his will, only to rend metal through desperation (and to the horror of his would-be tormenters). This time around, it’s not a WWII-era orphan who has to deal with his new powers, but Andy Strucker (Percy Hynes White), the son of Reed and Caitlin. The scene pictured above comes late in the trailer, but it looks like a culmination of a few different scenes shown prior.

The best we can tell, Andy has found himself deemed a ‘freak’ or ‘geek’ by his school’s bullies, who take it upon themselves to drag him into the locker room showers on the night of a school dance (being attended by his sister). When push comes to shove, Andy lets his frustration out in the form of his first major mutant power demonstration. It’s difficult to tell exactly what power he’ll be given in the TV series, but whether it’s control over metal or simply telekinesis in general, it’s clear they’re out of control when the show begins.


11. LAUREN HELPS HONE HIS POWERS?

Enter Andy’s sister, Lauren Strucker (Natalie Alyn Lind) as his new mentor. The trailer opens on the brother and sister discussing her mutant power as she demonstrates it on a vending machine, but the rest of the trailer’s action suggests that scene takes place after the kids’ powers have emerged, the government has sought them out, and their parents have taken them on the run. Hence the stay at a low-key motel, where mutant powers can be practiced in broad daylight.

As for the powers, Lauren seems to possess similar telekinetic abilities, but describe them differently. Likening her ability to directing air, and even water at will suggests powers of a more finely-tuned nature or purpose than Andy’s, but she then manages to just knock a bag of microwave popcorn out of the machine, so perhaps the telekinesis isn’t quite as refined (or she simply isn’t clear on how it functions). Thankfully, another shot or two in the trailer show Lauren’s gifts in action.


10. LAUREN’S DEFENSIVE POWERS AT WORK

It’s this scene that appears to be set after Andy has undergone his mutant power explosion in the locker room showers, with the school’s emergency lights coming on as the roof itself collapses. Lauren – present at the school for the aforementioned dance – does some quick-thinking, and forms a defensive umbrella over her head. It’s strong enough to deflect falling lights, so if it really is nothing but air, as she claims, then it seems akin to forming force fields out of almost nothing. While not the most groundbreaking use of her powers, it is familiar to comic book fans.

The effect of dozens of refracted discs of compressed air forming a solid at her mental command is an interesting one so early on, which means the only question is how the show’s writers intend to use it. It may be a challenging rope to walk, especially if Andy exhibits a similar power. Typically in superhero adaptations, it’s the woman and girls given purely defensive abilities, so we’ll cross our fingers that Lauren is just as interested in blasting debris towards her enemies as shielding herself from it.



9. TRAINING DOESN’T GO WELL

Let’s jump back to a shot contained in a flurry of action later in the trailer, showing Lauren and Andy in the same basic stance as previous. Only this time, it’s Lauren tackling Andy towards safety as the vending machine erupts from the inside out in an explosion of glass and sparks. Since standard vending machines don’t come equipped with that kind of explosive on board, we’re going to assume that Andy’s attempt at copying his sister’s food-knocking got out of hand, and fast. Instead of tapping a bag of chips from its perch, Andy has charged the machine with enough energy and force to tear it apart like so much tin foil.

While also not completely groundbreaking imagery for a story of children coming to terms with mutant powers in the X-Men universe, it reveals how powerful Andy is already. If this is what he’s capable of when not intending to do damage, think of the impact he could have on the men and women looking to put he and his sister in handcuffs? Well, viewers may not have to imagine it at all.



8. THE FIRST SENTINELS?

The trailer also reveals the main antagonist that the Struckers look to be fleeing from, when Jace Turner (Coby Bell) comes knocking on their front door. We have to imagine it’s in response to reports of what Andy did to his school’s showers (and what Lauren did in her efforts to protect him). Obviously the parents refuse, sending them on the run to the motel that Andy and Lauren also begin to destroy, one vending machine at a time. Later on in the trailer, the true government power behind Turner is revealed: the Sentinel Services, possibly the forerunner to the Sentinel program famous from the X-Men comics and cartoons.

Most viewers will be more familiar with the robotic Sentinels and their oversized, purple and silver, metallic bodies, or the more advanced version that wiped the Earth clean in the dystopian future of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Apparently, the show begins when the Sentinels are simply men and women in uniform, seeking out mutant fugitives… or the mutant children of a prominent District Attorney previously turned to to help stem the tide of mutantkind. But Turner and the Sentinel Services may appear long before this showdown in the pilot episode.