'The Gifted': Could the X-Men TV Series Be Adding a Founding X-Force Member?

The Gifted is about to return for its second season. Could Marvel and FOX’s X-Men TV series [...]

The Gifted is about to return for its second season. Could Marvel and FOX's X-Men TV series bring a founding member of X-Force with it?

Blair Redford plays John "Thunderbird" Proudstar on The Gifted. Today he shared a photo of himself doing some extra homework for the show. "Homework" in this case means reading what appears to be an early issue of Marvel's X-Force comic book series.

Take a look below.

Just doin a little research

A post shared by Blair Redford (@blairredford) on

So why might Redford be reading X-Force? There are several possibilities, but one is based on a certain character who was a member of the original X-Force team. Thunderbird himself wasn't a part of the group, but his brother James "Warpath" Proudstar was.

That leads us, and likely other fans, to wonder if Redford is doing homework to learn more about his character's brother. If he is, this could be because his brother will have a role to play in the show's second season.

ComicBook.com visited the set of The Gifted ahead of its first season and received another scoop about Thunderbird's backstory, after speaking to Redford and co-star Sean Teale (Eclipse). During the interview, the actors confirmed that Warpath is a part of Thunderbird's backstory for the show. Redford was less sure about whether this would ever actually come up as part of the show's story.

"The mutant group is their family," Redford said.

"Eclipse has been searching for that for a long time," Teale added. "I think [Thunderbid's] got a long-lost brother. Lorna Dane doesn't have her father, Magneto because he's too expensive."

Redford reiterated that "Yes, [Warpath] would be" a part of Thunderbird's backstory "and time will tell if we investigate that."

In the Marvel Comics universe, Thunderbird was a part of the all-new X-Men team that led the series when it was rebooted in the early 1970s. He debuted alongside such iconic X-Men characters as Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus. Thunderbird died tragically during the team's second mission.

Warpath appeared years later in the New Mutants. He harbored a grudge against Xavier's student, blaming them for his brother's death. Eventually, Warpath was able to get over that resentment and became first a part of X-Force and later a member of the X-Men.

Be sure to check out The Gifted Season Two key art, characters photos, and premiere photos.

Do you think Warpath could be coming to The Gifted? What other X-Men characters would you like to see on the show? Let us know in the comments!

The Gifted Season Two premieres Tuesday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.

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