The revival was first discussed in June 2019 and formally announced in November 2021, with DeMayo and Castorena attached. It is the first X-Men project fromMarvel Studios since the companyregained the film and television rights to the characters. Animation was provided byStudio Mir and Tiger Animation, and is a modernized version of the original series' style. Original producers Eric Lewald, Julia Lewald, and Larry Houston returned to consult on the revival and were made executive producers with thesecond season. Chase Conley and Emi Yonemura also directed episodes. DeMayo was fired as head writer in March 2024 and Chauncey was hired to replace him that July.
X-Men '97 premiered on March 20, 2024, with its first two episodes. The rest of the ten-episodefirst season was released weekly until May 15. It received critical acclaim and various accolades. The second season is scheduled to premiere in mid-2026, and the third season is in production.
X-Men '97 continues the story ofX-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997). In both series,mutants are people born with superhuman abilities that generally manifest during puberty. TheX-Men are a team of mutant superheroes founded byProfessor Charles Xavier to protect mutants and humans alike. At the end ofThe Animated Series, Xavier nearly dies in an assassination attempt and is taken to space to be healed by the alienShi'ar Empire.X-Men '97 begins a year later and sees the X-Men facing new challenges without Xavier, under the leadership of their former adversaryMagneto. As with the original series,X-Men '97 combines action,soap opera-style drama, and exploration of serious topics.[1][2]
Work on a second season began by July 2022.[4][5] Initial head writer Beau DeMayo had finished writing for the season by the time he was fired in March 2024.[6] Voice recording for the season had begun by February 2023,[7] and animatics for the entire season had been created by March 2024.[8] The season is set to premiere in mid-2026.[3]
A third season was in development by the end of March 2024.[8][9] Voice recording started a year later,[10] and animatics for most of the season were created by October 2025.[11] The season is expected to be released a year after the second.[12]
Ray Chase asScott Summers / Cyclops: The mutant field leader of the X-Men whose eyes emit powerful beams of concussive energy.[13] Cyclops is prepared to lead the X-Men after the loss of Charles Xavier, before Magneto takes that role.[14] Chase replaces Cyclops's original voice actorNorm Spencer, who died in 2020.[15] Chase had not seen the original series when he auditioned, and was provided clips and references for the character's voice to base his performance on. After being cast, he watched the original series and listened to interviews of Spencer.[14]
Jennifer Hale asJean Grey: A powerfultelepathic andtelekinetic mutant who is married to Cyclops, and was once the host of the cosmic entityPhoenix Force.[13] Her relationship with Cyclops is complicated by Wolverine's feelings for her.[14] Hale, who previously voiced the character in other Marvel media, replaces original series voice actress Catherine Disher,[15][16] and based her performance on Disher's voice.[14]
Hale also voicesMadelyne Pryor / Goblin Queen, a mutant clone of Jean created by Mister Sinister. Madelyne gives birth to Cyclops's son, Nathan, which further complicates his relationship with Jean. Hale used a slightly different tone when voicing Madelyne to separate her from Jean.[14]
Alison Sealy-Smith asOroro Munroe / Storm: A powerful mutant who can control the weather and is described as a "goddess".[13] Sealy-Smith reprises her role from the original series.[15]
Sealy-Smith also voices theAdversary, a demon that feeds on negative emotions[17]
Cal Dodd asLogan / Wolverine: A hotheaded mutant with a regenerative healing factor, heightened senses, retractable claws, and anadamantium-laced skeleton.[13] Dodd reprises his role from the original series.[15]
J. P. Karliak asMorph: A mutantmetamorph who can change their voice and appearance to that of any person. Morph's base design is updated from the original series to be "pale, hairless, and blankly-featured" similar to the version of the character seen in the "Age of Apocalypse" comic book storyline and theExiles comic book.[18] Morph identifies asnon-binary,[18] but the series does not explicitly use that term as it was not common in the 1990s.[19][20] Characters that Morph shape-shifts into in thefirst season include Xavier, Jean Grey,Archangel,[21] Blob,[22]Lady Deathstryke,Colossus, Psylocke,Sabretooth,[21] Spiral,[23] Illyana Rasputina / Magik / Darkchylde, Quicksilver,Juggernaut,Hulk, Mister Sinister,Sauron, andMister Fantastic.[21] Karliak replaces Morph's original voice actor Ron Rubin.[20]
Lenore Zann asRogue: A mutant who absorbs the memories, powers, and energy of those she touches.[13] The series reveals that Rogue had a secret romantic relationship with Magneto when she was younger, causing friction in her current relationship with Gambit.[26] Zann reprises her role from the original series.[15]
A. J. LoCascio asRemy LeBeau / Gambit: A mutant and former thief who can charge objects with explosive kinetic energy, including his signature playing cards.[13] Gambit's actions in the early episodes—including wearing acrop top and taking his shirt off, and his relationship with Rogue—were intended to endear the audience to him before his death at the end of the fifth episode.[27] LoCascio replaces Gambit's original voice actor Chris Potter.[15]
Holly Chou asJubilation Lee / Jubilee: The youngest member of the X-Men who can create firework-like explosions.[13] Chou replaces Jubilee's original voice actor Alyson Court, who previously said she would not reprise the role and would prefer that an Asian-American actor take it.[28] Court instead voices Abscissa.[29]
Isaac Robinson-Smith asLucas Bishop: A mutant from a dystopian future with the ability to absorb kinetic energy and redirect it into concussive blasts.[13] Robinson-Smith replaces original actorPhilip Akin.[15]
Matthew Waterson asErik "Magnus" Lehnsherr / Magneto: A powerful mutant who controls magnetism. Magneto is given control of the X-Men in the last will and testament of Charles Xavier.[1][13] Waterson replaces Magneto's original voice actorDavid Hemblen, who died in 2020.[15]
Ross Marquand asProfessor Charles Xavier: The founder of the X-Men who was taken to space to be healed by theShi'ar Empire following an assassination attempt.[32][33] Marquand replaces Xavier's original voice actorCedric Smith. Coincidentally, both actors previously provided the voice for Marvel villainRed Skull in different projects.[33]
Marquand also voicesDoctor Doom, the leader ofLatveria who is a member of "Operation: Zero Tolerance" (OZT);[34] andApocalypse, one of the first mutants who is thousands of years old and an enemy of the X-Men, replacingJohn Colicos andJames Blendick who voiced the character in the original series.[35]
Adrian Hough asKurt Wagner / Nightcrawler: A Catholic, blue mutant with teleporting abilities and prehensile hands and feet. Hough reprises his role from the original series inX-Men '97, which includes the character's playfulness from the comics.[36]
Hough also voicesStrong Guy, a mutant who can channel kinetic energy into physical strength[37]
Gil Birmingham asForge: A mutant who can invent advanced technology. Birmingham replaced Forge's original voice actorMarc Strange, who died in 2012.[46]
Christine Uhebe as Nina da Costa: Roberto's mother[23]
Theo James asBastion: The anti-mutant leader of OZT, a human-machine hybrid created byNimrod whose parents were background characters in the original series episode "One Man's Worth"[47][48]
Dr.Moira MacTaggert: A Scottish geneticist who serves on the council of Genosha. Marion replaced original voice actorLally Cadeau.[57]
Travis Willingham asSebastian Shaw: A former member of the Inner Circle Club who serves on the council of Genosha. Willingham replaced original voice actor David Bryant.[58]
X-Men: The Animated Series producers Larry Houston, Julia Lewald, and Eric Lewald returned to consult onX-Men '97. They became executive producers with the second season.
Larry Houston, the producer and director ofX-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997), said in June 2019 that he and that series' creative team were discussing a potentialrevival withDisney. They wanted to continue the story from where the original series ended.[62] Disney subsidiaryMarvel Studios was developing their first animated series,What If...? (2021–2024), and executives began discussing what their next animated project could be. The first idea considered was a revival ofX-Men: The Animated Series, which was suggested byBrad Winderbaum. The head of streaming, television, and animation at Marvel Studios, Winderbaum was a fan of the series,[63]: 15:50–16:02 [22] and said several filmmakers who had met with Marvel Studios in the past had cited that series as a touchstone.[64] In November 2020, Beau DeMayo was asked to present apitch for the revival after working as a writer for Marvel Studios' live-actionDisney+ miniseriesMoon Knight (2022).[65][27] Jeff Trammell also presented a pitch for the revival, but his desire to create an original story rather than continue the narrative fromX-Men: The Animated Series led to Marvel Studios suggesting he present a pitch for theirSpider-Man animated series,Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025–present), instead.[66]
By June 2021,Marvel Studios Animation was developing a slate of at least three series in addition toWhat If...? that,[67][68][69] as of August 2021, were in various stages of development and not expected to be released until 2023.[70] In November, one of these was announced to beX-Men '97, a revival and continuation ofX-Men: The Animated Series.[71][72] Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, VP of animation at Marvel Studios, said many of the people involved with the revival were fans of the 1990s series and "knewexactly" what the continuation should be.[64] DeMayo was announced ashead writer and executive producer,[28][64] with Jake Castorena assupervising director and Charley Feldman assupervising producer.[64] Houston and the original series'showrunners, Eric and Julia Lewald, were consulting on the revival,[64][73] assisting with any "red flags" that arose and suggesting things they would like to see.[74] The trio were contacted by Winderbaum shortly after the revival series entered development, and were excited that Marvel chose to make a direct continuation of their series.[22] The Lewalds attributed Disney and Marvel Studios' decision to fast-track the revival to the success of the original series streaming on Disney+ and the release of the bookX-Men: The Art and Making of The Animated Series (2020).[75]: 55:47–56:48 Castorena, Chase Conley, and Emi Yonemura directed episodes of thefirst season. Marvel Studios' Winderbaum,Kevin Feige,Louis D'Esposito, andVictoria Alonso also served as executive producers.[76]
Work on asecond season had begun by July 2022,[4][5] with Conley and Yonemura returning as directors.[85] By March 2024, DeMayo had finished writing for the season,[6][86][87] and had begun discussing ideas for a potential third season when he was fired by Marvel Studios ahead of the series' premiere. He was not involved in further promotion for the series and missed its red carpet premiere, whichThe Hollywood Reporter said was unusual for someone working on a Marvel Studios project, "even if they've been shuffled to the side" or replaced by other creatives.[6] Marvel said DeMayo had been fired after an investigation that led to "egregious" findings, which reportedly involved sexual misconduct.[86][87][88][89] An agreement made following DeMayo's exit allowed him to stilltweet about the series.[86] Winderbaum praised DeMayo's work on the series and said his departure would not negatively affect work on the third season, which was in development by the end of the month and remained on track to meet its production schedule. The studio was searching for DeMayo's replacement by then.[8][9]
In June 2024, after DeMayo postedgay pride-themed X-Men fan art on hisInstagram account, Marvel told him they would be removing his credits from the second season because of the post.[90] This decision was reportedly based on multiple instances that Marvel viewed as violations of DeMayo's termination agreement, in addition to the fan art post.[86][87][88] DeMayo said the breaches of his termination agreement were posts that he had made about the first season while it was being released, along with him participating in a screening of the series at a bar.[91] His lawyerBryan Freedman said the agreement included "illegal unconscionable items".[89] DeMayo released a video in which he denied reports of his own egregious misconduct and accused crew members and Marvel executives of "egregious prejudicial misconduct" against him, saying others had weaponized his identity as a gay Black man to undermine his work. He listed a series of concerns about crew and executives who worked on the series, and also suggested that his role on the second season had been "aggressively marginalized" before his firing due to concerns that he had expressed about the workplace culture of Marvel'sin-development filmBlade while he was working on that project.[91]Matthew Chauncey, a writer onWhat If...?, was hired in July to write and executive produce the third season, replacing DeMayo.[92][93][better source needed] The scripts for the second season had reportedly been revised and rewritten by then, with Chauncey overseeing the rewrites.[92]
Houston and the Lewalds were made executive producers starting with the second season.[94] In February 2025, Winderbaum said the season would be released in 2026, more than a year after the first. He saidX-Men '97 andYour Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man were the studio's top priorities for "get[ting] to a place where we can reliably have very strong seasons every year",[95] and in October he said future seasons would be released annually "for a number of years".[12] He confirmed that the third season was in production and said discussions about potential fourth and fifth seasons had begun.[11] Winderbaum also addressed questions about future seasons living up to the first season without DeMayo's involvement, saying the rest of the creative team—directors, writers, producers, and cast—remained mostly the same, Houston and the Lewalds continued to be closely involved, and he believed the revival worked because "everyone that works on the show knows that original series inside and out... the second season feels very much a worthy successor to the first season".[12]
The series'bible was written by April 2022,[75]: 1:06:17–1:06:32 and confirms that—as with the original series and the comic books—the revival's central ethos is the X-Men are allegories for people who face prejudice and discrimination.[96] Eric Lewald describedX-Men '97 as an extension of the original series that the Marvel Studios team had made their own,[74] while Vasquez-Eberhardt said the original series "embraced action,soap opera and serious topics", and the revival would do the same.[2] DeMayo wanted to honor the original series while bringing it into the modern world,[63]: 19:09–19:48 hoping to retain its earnestness, emotional sincerity, and focus onfound family while updating the social commentary to reflect contemporary society.[97] The new series explores whetherProfessor Charles Xavier's dream ofmutant/human co-existence and his focus on empathy are still relevant to modern audiences,[38][98] with DeMayo feeling that issues of social acceptance had become more complicated since the 1990s.[38]
The revival begins a year after the loss of Xavier during the original series' finale.[1] The main antagonists for the first season are the returningMister Sinister and theSentinels,[99][100] along with new villainBastion.[47] As with the original series, various comic book storylines were adapted for the revival.The Animated Series was primarily influenced byChris Claremont's run on the comics from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, andX-Men '97 continues to adapt stories from that era as well as elements from later in the 1990s and intoGrant Morrison's early 2000s run.[101] The second season features a storyline centered around the villainApocalypse,[102] and sees the X-Men being scattered throughout time and needing to find their way back to the 1990s from different points in the past and future.[3] DeMayo's original plan for the series was to rotate the central characters each season, with Gambit planned to be the focal character of DeMayo's third season.[103]
The character designs forRogue,Cyclops,Jubilee, andBishop inX-Men '97, by lead character designer Amelia Vidal. Vidal aimed to retain the designs from the original series and the comic books of the 1970s to the 1990s.[108]
Animation was provided byStudio Mir[109] and Tiger Animation.[110]: 30:52 The2D animation style of the original series was retained, but "slightly modernized" to improve the quality and reflect advances in animation since the 1990s.[111][74] Castorena's pitch for the job of supervising director was to make the series "fresh, but familiar",[22] and he said it needed to be "the show we remember, but it has to be in 4K".[111] Houston advised the animation team on how the original series was made,[22] and the storyboard artists reviewed the original to inform their composition, editing, and cinematography decisions. Winderbaum said there was a "code of ethics" they followed to align with the restrictions of the 1990s animation, but they occasionally broke this for dramatic effect such as during key action sequences.[111] AVHS-inspired effect was applied to the animation to make it appear more like 1990s television.[22][111]3D animation was used to lay out scenes and create more complicated vehicles and ships, but the animation team drew over this in 2D to maintain the series' art style.[112]
The opening title sequence ofThe Animated Series was recreated with updated animation for the revival. Houston worked with episodic directors Conley and Yonemura to recreate the title sequence based on Houston's original storyboards.[113] DeMayo said the costumes chosen for each character indicated which comic book storylines were being adapted by the series.[38] Lead character designer Amelia Vidal retained the design concepts from the original series along with the style and aesthetics of theX-Men comic books of the 1970s to the 1990s. Any changes from those were made to either better serve the story or to assist with the technical side of the animation.[108] Castorena said mutant powers were used in unique ways to convey their emotions,[114] and his goal was to use mutant powers in ways that had not been seen before. Morph's shape-shifting powers allow for cameo appearances of other mutants.[22]
One of Feige's stipulations for revivingX-Men: The Animated Series was ensuring Marvel Studios was able to use that series' theme song,[82] which was composed byRon Wasserman. Wasserman composed the theme while under contract with producerHaim Saban, giving legal ownership of the song to Saban.[115] Following legal battles over the use of the theme, Marvel Studios paid a large sum to secure the rights to it in 2022.[115][116] This was done on the condition that it be re-recorded for future projects and credited to the original series' music executives, Saban andShuki Levy.[115] Wasserman was set to meet with Marvel about his involvement in the revival by early 2022,[75]: 1:03:07–1:03:27 but John Andrew Grush and Taylor Newton Stewart—known professionally asthe Newton Brothers—were announced to be the composers forX-Men '97 that July.[5]
The Newton Brothers were hired while Marvel was still in the process of securing the rights for the original theme. On revisiting the original series, the composers realized that the music did not match with their childhood memories and many of the originalsynthesizer sounds would now sound dated to modern audiences. They chose to modernize the score with an orchestra, choir, and some modern synthesizers.[117] However, they felt the theme song should remain more true to the original style, to not "ruin the nostalgic vibes" and embrace the sincerity of the original series. They produced eight different versions of the theme, each with a different amount of orchestral music versus synthesizer music, before settling on the final version. The main melody is played on a synthesizer and an electric guitar, the latter performed byNili Brosh.[118] TheX-Men '97 version of the theme, credited to Saban and Levy, was first heard in the MCU filmDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and then the seriesMs. Marvel (2022) when those projects referenced mutants.[119]
TheX-Men '97 version of the main theme was released byMarvel Music andHollywood Records as a digital single on March 20, 2024.[120] A full soundtrack album for the first season was released on May 24.[121]
X-Men '97 premiered on Disney+ on March 20, 2024, with its first two episodes. The rest of the ten-episode first season was released weekly until May 15.[122] The season was originally scheduled for release in late 2023.[4] It aired on Disney's cable channelFXX from June 30 to July 4, 2025.[123] The second season is scheduled to premiere in mid-2026.[3] Winderbaum said in October 2025 that future seasons would be released annually "for a number of years".[12]
Disney announced that the first two episodes had 4 million views worldwide in the five days following their release, marking the biggest first-season premiere for a full-length animated series on the service since thefirst season ofWhat If...? in 2021.[124][125] The company announced that the first-season finale was watched by 3.5 million views globally during its first five days, which was similarly the biggest season finale for a full-length animated series on the streaming service since the first season ofWhat If...?[125]
The first season received critical acclaim,[92][126][127] was called "Marvel's best release in years", and was praised for its nostalgic animation, "smart writing, and captivating action sequences".[128][129]Review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes calculated that 99% of 79 critics reviews were positive, with an average rating of 8.9 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Pulling off the x-traordinary feat of staying true to its beloved predecessor while charting a path forward for the franchise,X-Men '97 is simply x-cellent."[130]Metacritic assigned aweighted average score of 82 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[131]
Beau DeMayo, Victoria Alonso, Louis D'Esposito, Kevin Feige, Brad Winderbaum, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Jake Castorena, Charley Feldman, Danielle Costa, Sean Gantka, Meredith Layne, Sang Hyouk Bang, Yun Mo Sung, and Emi Yonemura (for "Remember It")
In February 2021, the documentary seriesMarvel Studios: Assembled was announced. The specials go behind the scenes of the Marvel Studios films and television series with cast members and additional creatives.[148] The special for this series, "The Making ofX-Men '97", features cast members from the original series andX-Men '97, and explores the origins of the original series. It was released on Disney+ on May 22, 2024.[149]
^Lee, Chris (January 13, 2023)."Inside the VFX Union Brewing in Hollywood".Vulture.Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 1, 2023.Alonso heads up Marvel's dedicated "mini-studio," Marvel Studios Animation, which is behind such shows asWhat If ...? [...] and the summer 2022 series of Vin Diesel–voiced original shorts,I Am Groot.
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The Newton Brothers – X-Men '97 Theme (From "X-Men '97") presents the series' opening title sequence and theme song recreated from the original series,YouTube video fromMarvelMusicVevo's channel
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