X-Men ’97 Creator Reveals One Episode Was “Stolen Away” From the Team

Beau DeMayo, the creator and head writer of the highly-acclaimed X-Men ‘97, took to X (formerly Twitter) to address fan criticisms of episode four, “Motendo / Lifedeath – Part 1.” According to DeMayo, the episode was supposed to feature more of the relationship between Storm and Forge, but stated that the show’s co-executive producer (who he left unnamed) “stole the episode away and gave it to an editor on #WhatIf to redo it to her vision, which coincidentally eviscerated about 1/3 of Storm’s story and split Ep4 into two separate pieces.”

While this story hasn’t been corroborated elsewhere as of this writing, it does seem to explain why so many viewers thought that the episode felt rushed. DeMayo revealed that the plan for the episode was supposed to be much more faithful to the “Lifedeath” storyline from the original X-Men comics, which included more of the romance between Storm and Forge, as well as additional buildup toward Storm’s confrontation with the Adversary.

The episode was also supposed to begin with a recreation of the page from the comics that saw Forge attending to a weakened Storm. However, according to DeMayo, that was one of the portions that were removed from the episode by What If…?’s editor; DeMayo stated on X, “When I argued that she’d cut life-death’s iconic opening, I got the usual stop being a comic collector speech from them.”

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DeMayo revealed further troubles related to the production of “Motendo / Lifedeath – Part 1.” The writer said on X that he reached out to Yellowstone actor Gil Birmingham to play Forge on the series. However, because Birmingham had been previously cast in another Marvel Studios film only to have his role cut without being notified, he was reluctant to work on another MCU project. Yet DeMayo managed to convince him to give Marvel Studios another chance, tweeting, “I assured him 1) such disrespect would not happen on my watch and 2) outlined my multi-season plan for his character…We had an amazing 2 hour meeting. The guy is so cool. And he agreed, much to Marvel’s chagrin that I’d repaired a relationship they’d spat on. I was able to keep that promise, barely.”

Unfortunately, parts of Forge’s story with Storm were cut during the mandated editing process, so time will tell if Birmingham will return yet again after having his role heavily tinkered with for a second time.

Though DeMayo had begun writing the second season of X-Men ‘97, he was fired in March 2024 for alleged misbehavior, including sexual misconduct. DeMayo has denied these accusations and has taken to X since his firing to share his frustrations working with Marvel Studios.

X-Men ‘97 is available to watch on Disney+.