Watch Marvel's X-Men '97 Series Sneak Peek

03/13/2024 03:45 pm EDT

It's not a reboot — it's an eXtension. More than 25 years after X-Men: The Animated Series ended with the mutant superheroes facing an uncertain future, Marvel Animation's X-Men '97 picks up where the beloved Saturday morning cartoon left off in 1997. Ahead of its two-episode premiere March 20 on Disney+, Marvel Studios has released an extended sneak peek at the series revival. In the above clip, the show's creators and cast — including original voice actors Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm), and Lenore Zann (Rogue) — preview the "new age" of the animated X-Men.

"X-Men '97 is not a reboot of the original series, but literally a next-day continuation," Brad Winderbaum, executive producer and head of streaming, television and animation for Marvel Studios, says in the video. The 1997 series finale of X-Men: The Animated Series saw Empress Lilandra (Camilla Scott) of the Shi'ar Empire take a dying Professor Charles Xavier (Cedric Smith) off planet for life-saving treatment, so X-Men '97 begins with the X-Men's seemingly reformed archenemy Magneto (Matthew Waterson) inheriting Xavier's dream — and his school.

"Like the '90s show, we're keeping the themes of those stories that were so powerful, but adapting it for a brand new audience," adds consulting producer Larry Houston, who directed all 76 episodes of the original series. But unlike the '90s show, which was rated TV-Y7, X-Men '97 has been rated TV-14.

"It's so wonderful to revisit the series," says Dodd, reprising his role as the adamantium metal-clawed mutant Wolverine. "So much of the cast is back. We're even in the same studio."

Cast members like Sealy-Smith, back as the weather-wielding Storm; Zann, returning to her role as the power-absorbing Rogue; and George Buza, again voicing the brainy brawler Beast. But there's one more essential element, Buza adds, being carried over from X-Men: The Animated Series: "Of course, the theme song."

"30 years ago, we had no idea how much our show was affecting the whole world," Zann says. "The show is representing the past, while being unique." Adds Sealy-Smith: "It's everything you'd want from a new X-Men series."

Marvel Animation's 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.

Marvel's X-Men '97 is streaming March 20 on Disney+, with new episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays.

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