X-Men ’97’s Directors Loved Leaning into the Team’s Soap Opera Elements

X-Men ’97 is now six episodes deep on Disney+, and the new animated series continues to up the ante on the drama. When it comes to the fan-favorite group of heroes, it’s not all about fighting bad guys and defending mutant rights. The X-Men have always been known for their drama, especially of the romantic variety. X-Men ’97 hasn’t been holding back when it comes to love triangles, and ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with directors Emi Yonemura and Chase Conley about the animated show’s soap opera elements. 

“I love it. I love it, because I feel like you always have great action,” Yonemura explained. “We could go as sakuga crazy as we want with our action, but you got to earn it. You can’t have all action, all the time. So I love that we can interlace it with just how human these characters are, that they’re not just superheroes with powers, that they’re here for civil rights. They’re here for so many other messages that even we are trying to get across to an audience that it makes it so delicious, and it makes all the action worth it. And then the action makes the soap drama worth it. So I love the balance of both.”

“I agree,” Conley added. “I’m okay with spending an entire episode setting up something for the emotional payoff. And as a director, I enjoy bringing some of those more intimate scenes to life, because they just add all of that. You’re just layering up. You’re just building the Jenga puzzle. You’re just building it up. You’re stacking it up, and then the next episode, you just kick it all the way down. That’s the best feeling in the world. And it is fun, and you don’t want to do anything gratuitous. I don’t like gratuitous action, but I’m huge. I love action. I love sakuga. I love Japanese animation.”

“And we’ve been referencing specific animation from a period of the ’80s, and the ’90s, specific directors that we love,” Conley continued. “And what I think about some of that stuff is there was a great balance of action, and the emotional beats, and you really feel it. It’s tangible. It’s not action for action’s sake. It is we’re trying to tell a story. And even with the action there, there’s storytelling in that action as well. So we’re just treating everything as if it is also just about escalation. Right? That’s really the key as far as the director, what I try to focus on, and each episode.”

Why Are X-Men: The Animated Series Actors Voicing Different Roles in X-Men ’97?

X-Men ’97 director/producer Jake Castorena recently spoke with RadioTimes and explained why some of the voice cast has changed. 

“If we’re doing this show, we got to do it with the legacy cast – that was the decision from day one,” Castorena explained. “[But] time hits us all – it’s been 30 years and so, unfortunately, some of the legacy voice cast is no longer with us, and some of the legacy voice cast, voices and things just change.”

“Finding people to take up the mantle for the legacy cast, to fill in the roles, was an absolute process, but I absolutely love and appreciate all of our new cast taking on their new roles – and to hear the blessings from the legacy cast has been also awesome, too,” he added. 

“For those who wanted to come back and for whatever reasons weren’t able to do the voice, we brought them back to play other characters, to make sure we still had everybody in the sandbox… because how do you invite one person to come play, but not somebody else? Especially when they’re game and they want to. It’s like, ‘We’ll find something for you,’” Castorena continued. 

“Honestly, it’s a way to get everybody back. It’s the best way to get everybody back, as best as we could.”

X-Men ’97 releases new episodes on Wednesdays.