SDCC 17: Mutants Takeover TV with 'Inhumans' and 'The Gifted'

Madison Gallup ’17/ Emertainment Monthly TV Section Editor
Between the premieres of Inhumans and The Gifted, an X-Men fan has much to be excited about this fall. SDCC 2017 drummed up support for the two new series exploring the stories of many mutants featured in comics. Marvel’s first foray into bringing the X-Men universe into the television world was Legion. Noah Hawley‘s creation proved to be hugely successful, paving the way for fellow mutants to step into the spotlight and attempt to win viewer’s hearts.
Inhumans took the stage directly following the Legion panel in Ballroom 20. This ensured that the room would be full of their target audience. Moderated by Jeff Loeb, a longtime Marvel producer, this panel was able to show a lot of exclusive footage from the show.
Considering the expense and scale of this show, it isn’t very surprising that Loeb and Marvel need to stir up enthusiasm and excitement. Lest anyone leave Ballroom 20 with any uncertainty about how and when they could watch Inhumans, Loeb had the crowd continually chant back to him the IMAX release date and air date for the show (September 1st in theaters and September 29th on ABC).
Given that the cast is mostly made up of newcomers, the crowd most enthusiastically reacted to the stuffed animals of Lockjaw, Black Bolt’s giant teleporting bulldog, and to Iwan Rheon. Best known for playing the infamous Ramsay Bolton on Game of Thrones and known by some as Simon in Misfits or for his music career (he has one full album, Dinard, and a few EPs), Rheon takes on another antagonistic role in Inhumans.
The actual footage presented from the finished portions of the TV show was not without flaws. Mike Moh, the actor bringing Triton to life, addressed Ballroom 20, “you guys are gonna be really happy with the action.” Moh seems to be correct about this. There are many impressive visual effects and great fight choreography.
Unfortunately, some of the more character-driven and emotional clips fell flat. Rheon and Serinda Swan (playing Medusa) seem to have the most chemistry. Much of the dialogue seemed shallowly placed in an action sequence or simply did not make sense without context surrounding it. Black Bolt (played by Anson Mount), does not speak at all. Medusa, his wife, must translate for him; she doesn’t always let his exact message come through. Mount addressed the way he learned his lexicon by studying ASL and conductors. Swan explained, “if you pay attention throughout the show, you’ll start to recognize words and moments.”
On the other hand, The Gifted impressed primarily due to premise and execution. While Loeb did not moderate this panel, he sat among the cast as an executive producer. Stakes are considerably lower for The Gifted, but Loeb did point out that this is the “first time Marvel has had a TV show on Fox.” Ironically, the more relaxed nature of this panel made it easier to generate excitement for the new show. A lack of chanting dates repeatedly may have helped with that.
Ultimately, the difference in these two panels came down to the actual footage shown. Clips from The Gifted, while not filmed with IMAX cameras, were exciting, emotional, convincing, and dynamic. Matt Nix, another executive producer on the panel, described the show as mutants meet Running on Empty, the 80s film starring River Pheonix.
The Gifted feels inextricably tied to the real world. Nix framed the central question of the show: “how much are we willing to take away from people if we are afraid of them?” In many ways, this is the same question echoing through all the strongest X-Men adaptations. Inhumans touches on the same concern, yet it seems to do so in a more limited and confusing way. Maximus, the sole human in a royal family of mutants, seems to be making good points. He is outnumbered and ignored, perhaps unfairly. Time will tell which theme Inhumans is primarily exploring, but, ideally, audiences should have a clear idea from the trailer.
When The Gifted panel confirmed an audience member’s suspicion that the president in the show has a strong anti mutant policy, the crowd hooted and applauded. Sean Teale (the actor portraying the mutant, Eclipse) rode the wave of support, further explaining that the show is unique because it focuses on very real people with real problems and is relevant because “there’s a lot of persecution on the planet.” The crowd continued to clap, eager for more content which boldly and cleverly addresses the prevailing problems in the world.
Catch Inhumans in theaters on September 1st and The Gifted on Fox, October 2nd!
The Gifted will totally destroy Inhumans! Inhumans flopped so hard with critics and audiences. It has a zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes. That’ll teach Marvel not to screw with the X-Men by replacing them with the Inhumans who are lame X-Men wannabes. Don’t screw with the mutants! Bryan Singer will show Scott Buck what mutants are made of! The Gifted will be a good show! FOX will show ABC how it’s done!