FOX has some history with superheroes. Aside from currently airing Gotham, there have been a few superhero-centric animated shows on the network, such as Spider-Man, The Avengers: United They Stand, and The Tick (which also had a short-lived live-action show). And, of course, in 1992, FOX began airing a cartoon based on the X-Men comic.

The X-Men animated series ran for five seasons, and told many classic stories from the comics, such as The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past, which were later revisited in the live-action movies. Starting with the introduction of teenager Jubilee to Xavier's School for the Gifted, the cartoon was fairly mature, with storylines involving religion, prejudice, and death -- not your typical fare for children's entertainment at the time. The show was well-received and garnered high ratings, and is still highly regarded to this day.

And now, it looks as though FOX is eager to make a return to the world of Marvel's merry mutants. While it has not yet been picked up, it now sounds more likely that the network will be picking up the pilot for a new series based on the comic. Written by Matt Nix, the creator of USA's long-running action-spy drama Burn Notice, early drafts have apparently been met with enthusiasm by both FOX and Marvel TV. FOX chairman Gary Newman even told Deadline that he expects the final draft and pilot pick up to happen in the next couple of weeks.

The currently untitled show, which is set to be produced by Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, Jeph Loeb, and Jim Chory, tells the story of two parents without powers trying to protect their mutant children from a prejudiced government. The characters find other mutants in hiding, and they band together to stay alive in a world that is hostile to their kind. Exploratory casting has reportedly already begun, though character details are currently unavailable.

As with most shows being launched in live-action comic book universes, it is unclear at this time whether the series will tie into the live-action X-Men movies. The other live-action Marvel shows on TV, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the now canceled Agent Carter, and the various Defenders series on Netflix all tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to varying degrees, but it's unclear if FOX has any intention of doing the same with its mutant-based Marvel properties.

ScreenRant will have more details on the FOX X-Men series as they are made available.

Source: Deadline