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

The new age of X-Men '97 begins where the original animated series left off.

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.

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"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."

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"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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