X-Men: The Animated Series‘ opening theme is one of the most memorable in the history of television animation. The distinctive, guitar-fueled theme remains embedded in the brains of an entire generation of Marvel fans. Now that song may have landed Marvel in some legal trouble. TMZ reports that Zoltan Krisko has filed suit against Marvel, Disney, FOX, Apple, Amazon, and other media companies connected to X-Men: The Animated Series. The suit claims that the X-Men: The Animated Series theme song was stolen from an older television show, Hungarian police comedy/thriller Linda, which had a successful run from 1984 to 1991.
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Krisko manages the estate of Hungarian composer Gyorgy Vukan, who created and copyrighted the theme music used in Linda in 1983. Krisko believes the television executives involved in the creation of X-Men: The Animated Series would have heard the Linda theme song while networking with members of the Hungarian film industry during the 1980s
Krisko claims he had never heard the X-Men: The Animated Series theme song until 2017, which is why it’s taken so long to file suit. He claims that the allegedly swiped theme song played a significant role in the success of the animated show. Now he wants Vukan’s estate to see a significant part of the profits.
X-Men: The Animated Series aired for five seasons from 1992 through 1997, producing a total of 76 episodes. This lawsuit comes at an interesting time. X-Men: The Animated Series is expected to be part of the Disney+ launch library. There are also rumors the creators of the show are attempting to resurrect it with new episodes on the streaming service. In 2017, showrunner Eric Lewald discussed what a sixth season of the series might look like.
“I had honestly never thought about it for all these years, but now that you mention it, an idea for a season just came to me: The five-season series ends with a dying Charles Xavier being whisked away to space by Lilandra, where she can maintain his fragile body, but where it seems he will be gone forever from his beloved X-Men. It’s like a death,” Lewald began. “Season Six could open, months later, with the X-Men in disarray – a few gone, the ones remaining at each other’s throats. They miss their leader. Then somehow they are called to – and transported to – an existential crisis on Lilandra’s distant world. The team grudgingly reunites ‘for Charles,’ heads off to space, solves the crisis, and a somehow-healed Charles Xavier is either able to return to Earth with them or, if he can’t, his heroic final sacrifice heals the team’s wounds and they return to Earth as the proper X-Men again.”
What do you think of the lawsuit over the X-Men: The Animated Series theme song? Let us know in the comments.
