Tribune Entertainment cast John Shea as the star of Mutant X as it defended the upcoming action hour from plagiarism charges.
Shea recently played Lex Luther in ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The move signals the studio is confident of side-stepping a lawsuit filed in April by 20th Century Fox, which alleges that Mutant X unfairly rips off its X-Men film franchise. The suit ultimately seeks to block the run of Mutant X, which debuts this coming fall. Included in Shea's announcement was this statement from Tribune: "Mutant X is not based on the X-Men property and is in no way related to, licensed or approved by, or associated with the motion picture X-Men or 20th Century Fox Film Corporation."
Also cast in Mutant X, which follows a group of genetically engineered humans are Forbes March, Victoria Pratt, Lauren Lee Smith and Victor Webster.
- Susanne Ault
