MGM+'s The Institute may immediately remind many of Marvel's X-Men. After all, it follows a group of young kids forced to come to terms with their supernatural powers in order to utilize them for a purpose.
Joe Freeman leads the cast as Jim Ellis, a boy with telekinetic abilities who is kidnapped overnight and taken to the mysterious Institute led by Mary-Louise Parker's Ms. Sigsby. Minutes after he arrives, Jim's determined to get out. Ben Barnes also stars as Tim Jamieson, a local police officer who can't help but fight for what's right, which tends to get him into places he shouldn't be.
Both Joe Freeman and Ben Barnes spoke with The Direct's Russ Milheim in an exclusive interview, in which they commented on how The Institute compares to Marvel's X-Men.
Freeman was quick to note how he thinks "the main difference is Charles Xavier's kids, so to speak, were not tortured and abused" and that while watching The Institute, he "didn't get that sense that these are superheroes in the making."
Barnes added that he feels like the telepathic and telekinetic powers showcased in the story represent specific things. The actor pointed out how those "telepathic qualities represent the way that people communicate" and that "telekinesis is about those secret powers that we all have."
In the full interview, which can be read below, Barnes and Freeman, alongside their co-star Mary-Louise Parker, also dive deeper into their characters featured in The Institute. The Institute starts streaming on MGM+ on July 13, 2025. Meanwhile, X-Men fans should be sure to check out all mutants confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday.
Is The Institute Anything Like Marvel's X-Men?
"I Think the Main Difference Is Charles Xavier's Kids, So To Speak, Were Not Tortured and Abused."
- The Direct: "Many are going to be quick to compare a story like this to that of, you know, Marvel's X Men. How would you say that this story is either similar and or different to those beloved characters that people might be trying to compare?"
Joe Freeman: Well, I think the main difference is Charles Xavier's kids, so to speak, were not tortured and abused. When I watched the show, I didn't get that sense that these are superheroes in the making, and that's the sense that I got from the X-Men.
Ben Barnes: There's even a reference at one point, which is like, what do you think this is, X-Men? You know that there's even a reference to acknowledging that we're in the same real world, that that kind of thing could exist, thereby showing that the telepathic, telekinetic powers these kids have are real, as opposed to superhero.
And that's what I love about Stephen King, is that actually everything is so thoughtful. And I think for me that, those telepathic qualities represent the way that people communicate, and telekinesis is about those kind of like, secret powers that we all have to be able to eventually tap into and use to stand up against a regime that might be oppressive. So, I think a lot of his stuff is about tapping into that.
- The Direct: "Both of your characters are basically thrown into the deep end of the pool, in over their heads in different ways. How would you say each of them handles that situation in a distinct way?"
Joe Freeman: I think, well, for Luke, it's—I'm in this situation, and I'm gonna try and do everything I can to get out of this situation immediately. Like, within two minutes of getting to The Institute, he's talking to Kalisha about where they are, who runs the place, and everything that she knows about it. And it's just very, he's got a lot of urgency in the first couple of episodes because, yeah, he does not want to be there, quite rightly so. It's not the best place.
Ben Barnes: I think they're different in the way that they're sort of challenged by that kind of system, because Luke really has no choice. He's literally kidnapped and tortured and I think Tim is in a different situation, where he's trying to be the best man he can in the world, and trying—you know, he's been someone who has consistently stood up against injustice, but it is bitten him in a way before the story starts.
And so he's quite heavy when we meet him, and he's looking for sort of peace and to kind of stay out of that kind of stressful situation, I think. And then he cannot help himself. He keeps sticking his hand in, if you're going to use your pool analogy, keep sticking his hand in the water and pulling up these kind of secrets and he can't help himself but to kind of go and investigate and try to be a force for good in the world, really.
So, I think they do come at it from different angles. But obviously, once you watch the whole series, you realize they sort of end up in the same place.
Mary-Louise Parker on Bringing Ms. Sigsby to Life in The Institute
"She Really Believes That She's Working for the Greater Good of Humanity."
- The Direct: "Ms. Sigsby is a commanding and ominous leader at The Institute, someone who's clearly hiding a lot. How did you approach projecting that outward-facing exterior, you know, as someone who does know all the answers and you know is hiding it?"
Mary-Louise Parker: I think just really going back to what Jack kind of framed it as, you know, how far would you go to save the world? And that's really what she believes. She really believes that she's working for the greater good of humanity. And, you know, ultimately, that's what makes her truly dangerous, is that she thinks she's doing the right thing, yeah. So, just always going back to that made her kind of undaunted.
- The Direct: "What do you feel you added to Ms. Sigsby that wasn't necessarily on the page, but through your performance, you brought out into the character?"
Mary-Louise Parker: I don't know. I mean, mostly I want to serve what Steven wrote. I want to humbly approach the material and just not screw it up. I did want there to be a big gap between the way she presents at work and the way she is at home when she's alone, that there was, like, no attempt whatsoever at self care, like, can't even bring herself to barely get a fork or a plate when she's eating. That just speaks to some kind of real self-loathing, and somebody who's just kind of rushing past, rushing through life so she doesn't have to look at anything.
The full discussion with the cast and filmmakers can be seen below:
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