Jeph Loeb Offers An Update On Marvel/Fox's Upcoming X-MEN TV Series; Reveals Why HELLFIRE Was Scrapped
Speaking at the Television Critics Association press, Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb & Fox TV CEO Dana Walden shared a few details on the new direction they plan on taking Fox's upcoming X-Men TV series.
Back in July, FOX and Marvel Television announced their plans for a new X-Men TV series, which would replace the previously announced Hellfire, with Burn Notice creator Matt Nix on-board as the new showrunner. They didn't unveil a title or which characters would be involved, but they did reveal that it would center on two ordinary parents that discover that their children possessed mutant abilities. They're then forced to go on the run, with their kids in tow, as an uncompromising and hostile government hunts them down. The story follows them on their journy as they join forces with an underground network of mutants, who help them fight for their survival.
At the Television Critics Association press tour yesterday, Marvel TV head Jeph Loeb expressed his enthusiasm to IGN for Marvel TV's upcoming collaboration with Fox and for what Nix had created and while it was too early for him to divulge any major details, he did offer up this tease: "As an X-Men fan, and ultimately, what Matt brings to it is that the X-Men are always stories about family. That's where they start, that's where they live. It's about understanding how we deal with each other, It's about parents that don't understand what's wrong with their kids, it's about kids that don't understand their parents. And he understood that. He got it." Family is a core theme in the X-Men mythology and is essentially the heart of 20th Century Fox's blockbuster film franchise, so it's probably wise they use one of the franchise's strongest elements to further expand the world.
Neither Loeb or Fox Television Group Chairman & CEO Dana Walden shed any light on which characters they'd be exporing, but Walden did admit a few classic X-Men characters would certainly be making an appearance at some point or another, but the main focus of the show would be on this new family of mutants: “There will be some iconic characters but mostly this is about a new family, It’s about an average family who encounters this extraordinary world and children who have mutant powers and they end up on the run, so it’s a little bit underground railroad in terms of a storytelling spine.” She refers to them as a new family, but stops short of confirming or denying whether the family consists of original characters or of newly created ones. However, considering the secrecy surrounding the project and their identities, it's hard to imagine that X-Men fans won't already be at least somewhat familar with whomever these unnamed individuals are. Loeb also added an interesting tidbit about why they haven't been as forthcoming with details on this project: "We haven't really been able to tell everybody what the whole story is, They'll be able to see it, and when they do, it'll be really clear why those characters were chosen, where they are going, and what's going to happen."
As for Hellfire, which was scrapped in favor of this new untitled project, Dana Walden, in a separate interview with Slashfilm, elaborated a bit on why they decided it was better to go in a different direction following the departure of its original showrunners, explaining that the new story felt just a tad too big for television and that their take on the Hellfire Club may have been a little too similar to the villainous group's appearance in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class where they faced off with a young Charles Xavier and the first generation of his beloved X-Men: “We did see an early draft of Hellfire and there was a lot of work to be done, Manny and Evan were getting very busy with the new 24. At a certain point we all regrouped, together with Simon Kinberg and Bryan Singer and Lauren Shuler Donner and Jeph Loeb at Marvel and really made a decision. I would say if there was anything about Hellfire that was not ideal for us, it felt like a show that wanted to live as a feature rather than really taking advantage of what television does best: exploring relationships and characters and smaller moments. It doesn’t mean it can’t feel like a big show but Hellfire felt more like another installment of the features.”
Fox has already given the untitled Fox/Marvel project a put pilot commitment, meaning they are heavily invested in its development and that there's almost a 99% chance the show eventully makes it to series or if not to series, then at least to a television special, else the studio would have to pay a significant penalty for opting not to air the series. As for when it'll actually make it to airwaves, Loeb confirms it should be ready by pilot season and reckons it'll make it to a television near you by fall 2017 or midseason 2018 at the latest. He's listed as an executive producer alongside X-Men franchise mainstays Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner, and Simon Kinberg.
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