Director Bryan Singer's recent comments on The Gifted suggest that FOX's upcoming new X-Men series is not your typical superhero show. The X-Men veteran is taking the franchise to TV after having directed four installments of the sprawling movie series. The Gifted will cover a new group of young mutants who are being introduced into the X-Men universe - though it isn't the same universe as the X-Men movies.

FOX's new show will follow misunderstood mutants struggling to coexist with humans and the government, which is nothing new for the X-Men universe. But unlike most installments of the movie franchise, the mutant characters won't necessarily be battling supervillains who threaten the world themselves. Instead, to the world they live in, they are the villains. That's how Singer explained the show's distinctive premise in a new promo video.

Related: Meet the Mutants of The Gifted

Marvel Entertainment posted the new promo to Twitter on Thursday, which you can check it out below. In the video are Singer, creator Matt Nix, and star Stephen Moyer discussing what The Gifted is about and what sets it apart from other X-Men productions and superhero shows in general. Singer described a world in which the mutants are not treated as heroes and their real battles come from being pursued by the government:

"We have the ability to touch upon other aspects of the X-Men universe, but it's not superheroes saving the world. It's people who are disenfranchised. … There's much more going on beneath the surface, both in the human world and the mutant world."

Singer also described The Gifted as "a story about mutants who live on the outskirts, and [a] family on the run." Nix explained that the overarching themes of the show are about "how a country relates to people who are different, and how people who are different relate to their own country and their own world." Moyer, who plays a district attorney and the father of two young mutants on the run, describes a world in which "anybody who isn’t normal or ordinary is viewed as dangerous to society."

It's clear that the makers of The Gifted aren't necessarily interested in simply focusing on mutants and their powers, or pitting them against singular forces of evil. Instead, society is their enemy, with the government and Coby Bell's Agent Jace Turner at the forefront of that struggle. Similarly to FX's Legion, The Gifted is attempting to take the X-Men universe to uncommonly deep levels in terms of the complexity of its characters and themes.

Of course, just because The Gifted is aiming higher with its themes doesn't necessarily mean it will deliver them as compellingly as FX did with Legion. A good idea is only half the battle. But the mere fact that Nix and Singer want to make a bigger statement with The Gifted is a promising sign for the new series' considerable potential.

Next: X-Men TV Series The Gifted is ‘About Bigotry’

The Gifted premieres Monday, Oct. 2 on FOX.

Source: Marvel Entertainment