Fans of the original X-Men: The Animated Series have always treated it as the gold standard for Marvel cartoons, as it introduced a generation of fans to Marvel’s merry mutants. There have been rumblings of a reboot or a continuation over the years, especially after Disney regained the X-Men rights after acquiring Fox assets. So of course, all eyes were on Disney+ Day to see what new Marvel announcements were coming down the pipeline, and fans were not disappointed after receiving word of an X-Men: The Animated Series revival heading to Disney+ in 2023.
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As The Wrapย revealed, The official title of the new animated series is X-Men ’97, which is already in production at the streaming service. The new X-Men animated series will pick up after the original ended, coincidentally in September 1997. The final episode featured Professor Charles Xavier gravely injured in an attack by the mutant-hater Henry Peter Gyrich. Xavier’s only hope for survival is to take Princess Lilandra up on her offer to leave Earth and head to the Shi’ar empire. The X-Men are joined by their rival and Xavier’s best friend, Magneto, to say goodbye to their leader during his final moments on the planet.
Returning cast members will include Cal Dodd, Lenore Zann, George Buza, Adrian Hough, Christopher Britton, Catherine Disher, Chris Potter, Alison Sealy-Smith, Alyson Court. New cast members will include Jennifer Hale, Anniwaa Buachie, Ray Chase, Matthew Waterson, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Jeff Bennett, AJ LoCascio. Head writer and executive producer on the series is Beau DeMayo. Supervising director is Jake Castorena and supervising producer is Charley Feldman.
Consulting on the new series are “X-Men: The Animated Series” writers Eric and Julia Lewald, and director Larry Houston.Rumors of Disney+ developing an X-Men animated series surfaced in the lead-up to Disney+ Day, with rumors stating production would begin in 2023. Now that we know that production is already underway, it could mean fans will get to see it on Disney+ sooner than expected.
One of the producers of X-Men: The Animated Series confirmed talks with Disney+ back in 2020. Producer and director Larry Houston discussed these talks during a virtual panel at Wizard World in August of that year. “We’ve had talks, but that’s about it,” Houston said at the panel. “We’ve made conversation and it’s up to them to make the decision, but we’ve let them know that we’re all available for whatever they want to do in the future.”
Houston added that an X-Men revival is one of the only projects he’d come out of retirement for, with the caveat of “if we could do a special, a one-off episode, or a five-part episode.”
“Whatever they wanted to do if we had all the original team,” he continued. “That’s what I would come out of retirement for.”
So what are your thoughts on X-Men ’97? Make sure to leave us a comment down below!
