The much-anticipated first look at X-Men '97, the Disney+ revival of X-Men: The Animated Series, debuted at Comic-Con International in San Diego, slicing through the Marvel Studios animation panel like an optic blast.
Officially announced in November 2021, following a whirlwind of rumors, the continuation of the beloved 1990s animated series will debut on Disney+ sometime in 2023. Marvel revealed a series of images that highlight the characters' new, updated designs and costumes. While the studio didn't disclose much in terms of X-Men '97's story, it did confirm that Magneto, sporting a design seemingly inspired by John Romita Jr.'s depiction of the character, will be leading the titular team.
Original voice actors Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Beast), Adrian Hough (Cannonball), Christopher Britton (Mister Sinister), Catherine Disher (Jean Grey), Chris Potter (Gambit) and Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm) will reprise their roles. Alyson Court, who originally played Jubilee, will also return, but as another character, allowing an Asian voice actor to be cast in the role.
X-Men '97 Continues the Beloved 1990s Animated Series
X-Men: The Animated Series aired on Fox Kids for five seasons, from 1992 to 1997, for a total of 76 episodes. Inspired by the look and line-up of Jim Lee's hit X-Men comic series of the early '90s, the cartoon drew from such classic Marvel storylines as "Days of Future Past," "The Phoenix Saga" and "Legacy Virus." However, The Animated Series also influenced the comics, perhaps most notably Marvel's Age of Apocalypse crossover, and the wedding of Scott Summers and Jean Grey.
Although producers initially intended to end the series with the Season 4 finale, in which the X-Men stop Apocalypse and Cable returns to his own time, Fox surprised virtually everyone with an order for a 10-episode fifth season. That run concluded on Sept. 20, 1997, with "Graduation Day," in which a dying Professor Xavier sets off for the Shi'Ar homeworld in search of a cure. The episode also provides closure for Xavier and Magneto, who ends his assault on humanity.
Marvel previously returned to the world of X-Men: The Animated Series in 2015 with the X-Men '92 comic miniseries (a nod to the cartoon's 1992 premiere date), released as part of the Secret Wars event. A third volume, X-Men '92: House of XCII, debuted in April.
X-Men '97 will join a Marvel Studios animated line-up on Disney+ that includes What If...?, and the upcoming I Am Groot and Spider-Man: Freshman Year. While those series are connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- What If...? set up key elements of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, for example -- the canonicity of X-Men '97 isn't as clear. "I'm gonna go with 'no comment' here," head writer Beau DeMayo teased, "because part of the surprise will be finding that out when you experience the show."
X-Men '97 does not yet have a release date.
Source: Marvel