The classic riffs and synths that opened X-Men: The Animated Series will return for the upcoming X-Men '97 series, but it wasn't easy for Marvel to obtain the rights to the fan-favorite theme song.
During an appearance at the Steel City Con in Pennsylvania, X-Men '97 consultant Eric Lewald revealed Disney and Marvel Studios paid a "heavy price" for the rights and had to jump through a number of hurdles.
"[The X-Men: The Animated Series theme song] wasn't a done deal necessarily when they were producing the new show," Lewald said. "The rights were all over the place. I think a secondary person had the rights to the music, so it was a negotiation for them. Obviously, you can't do the new show without that song... But the guy selling it knew the same thing, so I'm sure it was a heavy price."
What's The History Of The X-Men Theme Song?
Despite these legal hurdles, X-Men '97 -- which features a score composed by the Newton Brothers --will contain a version of the classic melody that opened all five seasons of X-Men: The Animated Series. The show debuted in 1992 and featured an action-packed introduction that featured Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Jean Grey and Professor X. The accompanying song has since become renowned as one of the most memorable cartoon themes of the '90s, and brief interpolations of it can be heard in recent Marvel Cinematic Universe media.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured notes from the song as Patrick Stewart, reprising his role as Professor Charles Xavier from the X-Men movies of the 2000s and 2010s, floated out in his yellow hoverchair to greet Stephen Strange. Ms. Marvel also featured a recognizable guitar riff from the song in its season finale, hinting that the show's version of Kamala Khan will make her mark as one of the first mutants in the MCU.
The X-Men cartoon theme was originally composed by Ron Wasserman, who also created the iconic "Go Go Power Rangers" theme for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The theme song was the subject of a lawsuit in 2019 for sharing similarities with the opening tune of Linda, a Hungarian cop show that ran from 1984 to 1990.
X-Men '97 picks up where the original cartoon left off, featuring the iconic mutants of the '90s in all new stories. The series does not yet have a release date, but it will eventually debut on Disney+.
Source: via ComicBook.com