'The Gifted' Teases "Days of Future Past" in Season 3

The Gifted may be about to plunge into one of the most iconic X-Men stories of all time.

SPOILERS for The Gifted Season Two finale, "oMens," follow.

Earlier this season, The Gifted put its spin on the classic X-Men story "Mutant Massacre." Jace Turner led a Purifier raid on the Morlocks' underground community. The Mutant Underground arrived to help the Morlocks escape, but Turner shot Blink while she was holding open a portal for the last of the Morlocks to escape.

Since then, the Mutant Underground has assumed that Blink is dead, and Thunderbird has taken her death hard. Whenever he's tried to use his mutant tracking abilities, he's only been able to see Blink, and he even thought he heard her voice once.

After the finale episode's climax, the Mutant Underground gathers to listen to Erg's reports of mutant groups gathering across the country and asking for help. Thunderbird interrupts the meeting when he senses something outside the building.

The Mutant Underground heads outside. Blink steps through a portal, but she's changed. Her clothes are different, and she also appears more battle-hardened. She's learned to manifest her teleportation abilities through projectile energy-javelins, her signature move in the comics. She opens a portal and tells the others to step through because there's something they need to see, and all that can be seen through the portal is rubble and flame.

This may be a portal to the "Days of Future Past" timeline. Chris Claremont and John Byrne created that dystopian future in the original "Days of Future Past" story in Uncanny X-Men #141 and #142 in 1981. It introduced a future where Sentinels policed the Earth and mutants were kept in concentration camps. The remaining X-Men send Kitty "Kate" Pryde back in time to inhabit her teenage body, and she helps the X-Men of the present day prevent the assassination of Sen. Robert Kelly, which would have led to the enactment of the Mutant Control Act, the imprisonment of mutants, and the rise of the Sentinels.

The first season of The Gifted included several references to "Days of Future Past." The main antagonist, Roderick Campbell, becomes the villain Ahab in the "Days of Future Past" timeline in the comics. His mutant-hunting Hound program was also a major part of the show's first season. The 7/15 event in The Gifted seems like a stand-in for the assassination of Kelly, leading to the rise of anti-mutant sentiment.

"Days of Future Past" was the inspiration for the 2014 movie X-Men: Days of Future Past. Fan Bingbing played Blink in that film's future timeline. The film also featured Booboo Stewart as Warpath, Thunderbird's brother. These connections could mean that The Gifted will reference the Days of Future Past movie instead of the comic book story.

Whether The Gifted ends up retelling "Days of Future Past" remains to be seen. Whether it has the opportunity depends on if FOX renews the show for a third season. FOX hasn't made an official announcement about the show's future.

Would you like the see The Gifted take on "Days of Future Past"? Let us know in the comments.