X-Men '97 Producer Says Retro Setting Was Major Advantage

X-Men '97 is debuting on Disney+ next week, and the new series is expected to pick up where X-Men: The Animated Series left off when it came to an end after five seasons in 1997. Not only does the show take place in the '90s, but it also sees the return of much of the original show's voice cast. ComicBook.com's Phaze Zero podcast recently spoke with producer Brad Winderbaum, and he explained why setting the show in 1997 was an advantage.

"Well, actually, it was kind of liberating to be able to stay in the 90s," Winderbaum began. "It allowed us to go places that we could just do what we want. To be so iterative. Things that we couldn't do if we were more MCU adjacent like What If...? is. I mean, What If...? is like we're literally remixing the MCU. So, it's harder to introduce characters. Because you want to see them in live-action. Although, we do see Bill Foster as Giant Man in the second season. That's new!" 

Why Was Beau DeMayo Fired From X-Men '97?

As fans gear up for the debut of X-Men '97, the surprising news broke earlier this week that showrunner Beau DeMayo had been fired from the series. Details of his firing have remained under wraps, but Winderbaum recently addressed the news in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

"I can't talk about the details," Winderbaum explained. "But I can say that Beau had real respect and passion for these characters and wrote what I think are excellent scripts that really the rest of the team were able to draw inspiration from [to] build this amazing show that's on screen." When asked if he would consider what happened with DeMayo as a "firing" as had been the wording used in the press, Winderbaum added, "I don't. 'We parted ways' is the best way I could say."

What Is X-Men '97 About?

You can read Marvel Studios's official synopsis for the animated series here: "X-Men '97 revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future. The voice cast includes Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, JP Karliak as Morph, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto and Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler."

X-Men '97 debuts on March 20th. You can watch Phase Zero's interview with Winderbaum here.