After 25 years, the X-Men ’97 release date will answer one of the great cliffhangers of the ’90s. The new series will be a direct sequel to the beloved animated show, a staple for any Marvel fan of a certain age. A bowl of Cap’n Crunch and some adamantium adventures with Wolverine? Perfect.
X-Men heroes Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, and more will be back for another round. However, this time, the X-Men characters will be fighting alongside Magneto after the unresolved season 5 ending. This plot is entirely different from what we’ve seen in the X-Men movies in order and should be a good entry point for anyone curious about Marvel’s mutants. So, in preparation for the return, we’ve been into the Danger Room and back to find out everything we can.
X-Men ’97 release date speculation
X-Men ’97 is definitely coming out in 2024, and we believe it’ll be in the first half of the year.
Originally, X-Men ’97 was scheduled to release in late 2023. However, a major shake-up of the Marvel series on Disney Plus (impacting the release dates of Daredevil season 4, Agatha, Echo, and more) meant the deck has been reshuffled, delaying the return of the world’s most beloved mutants. Honestly, it’s hard enough to keep up with the Marvel movies in order without all of this.
A delay wasn’t entirely unexpected, though, as the series had received very few updates. A firm date should arrive relatively soon, watch this space!
Who is in the X-Men ’97 cast?
X-Men ’97 is bringing back most of the voice cast from the iconic ’90s series, so many of the mutants will sound familiar to you.
Cal Dodd is back as Wolverine, a surefire relief to anyone who watched in the ’90s. Alongside him: Lenore Zann is still Rogue, George Buza returns as Hank McCoy, Alison Sealy-Smith is back as Storm, Adrian Hough is Nightcrawler, and Christopher Britton has Mister Sinister covered.
Beyond that, a number of high-profile actors are attached, like Jennifer Hale, who is voicing Jean Grey. Alyson Court has confirmed she won’t be back as Jubilee, who’s now being voiced by Holly Chou.
Thanks to a Funko Pop! figure of all things, we also know that the Goblin Queen will be one of the show’s Marvel villains. In the comics, she’s a clone of Jean Grey who shares Jean’s telepathic and telekinetic abilities.
The current X-Men ’97 cast list:
- Cal Dodd as James Howlett/Wolverine
- Lenore Zann as Anna-Marie Raven/Rogue
- Holly Chou as Jubilee
- Alison Sealy-Smith as Ororo Munroe/Storm
- George Buza as Dr Henry ‘Hank’ McCoy/Beast
- Ray Chase as Cyclops
- Adrian Hough as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler
- Christopher Britton as Nathaniel Essex/Mister Sinister
- Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey
- A.J. LoCascio as Gambit
- Matthew Waterson as Magneto
- Gui Agustini as Sunspot
- Catherine Disher as TBA
- Anniwaa Buachie as TBA
- Chris Potter as TBA
- Alyson Court as TBA
- J.P. Karliak as TBA
- Jeff Bennett as TBA
What will happen in X-Men ’97?
X-Men ’97 is a direct continuation of the ’92 series and takes place just a few months later in a world of increased sympathy towards mutants.
This means we’ll learn what happened after the mutants, Magneto in tow, said goodbye to Professor Xavier.
The humble leader was avoiding death by going to the planet Shi’Ar with Lilandra, leaving everyone who knew and loved him to just wait and see if he’d ever return (Yes, that cartoon ended like the Poochie gag from The Simpsons). The good thing about such a weird anti-climax is that it left plenty of dangling threads for the writers to revisit.
We also know that Wolverine and Storm will be stepping up as leaders of the group, while Magneto also has an influence after Xavier technically left him in charge. In terms of their enemies, Mister Sinister will be the main threat, trying to bring about the destruction of the X-Men once and for all (when is he ever not?).
Expect all of these to factor into X-Men ’97 and whatever other themes and ideas the writers can fit in. Perhaps we’ll get more Phalanx or some version of the Avengers vs X-Men storyline.
The options are wide open at present, and the best way to prepare is to do a rewatch of the animated series, which can be found on Disney Plus right now.
Is there an X-Men ’97 trailer?
X-Men ’97 doesn’t have a trailer just yet but one should be on its way over the course of the next few months.
In the meantime, you can get in the X-Mood by watching the trailer for our pick of the best movies in X-Men history: Logan. And with Hugh Jackman set to wear the claws again for Deadpool 3, there has never been a better time for a rewatch.
Where can I watch X-Men ’97?
X-Men ’97 will stream on Disney Plus when it’s released.
Increasingly among the best streaming services for superhero fans, Disney Plus is also where the original animated series is living for now, so you have plenty of time to binge the classic series before getting lost in the upcoming version.
How many episodes of X-Men ’97 will there be?
There will be ten episodes of X-Men ’97. A second season is already underway too, which is great news.
Is X-Men ’97 part of the MCU?
The official word so far is that X-Men ’97 will not take place within the mainline continuity of the MCU.
But what this ultimately means is up for debate. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness establishes that Professor X (at least, the Patrick Stewart version) and the mutants exist in some timeline and that their aesthetic matches the ’90s show.
If you count the multiverse, then X-Men ’97 is almost certainly part of the MCU, just not in any way that impacts the mainline storyline. Will there ever be a crossover? Well, Captain Carter was introduced in What If…? before coming to life in Multiverse of Madness. The precedent is there, but for something like the X-Men, it’s a slightly more difficult transfer.
Captain Carter was played in both animated and live-action forms by Hayley Atwell. That’s one actor who was already part of the fabric of the MCU. If X-Men ’97 is converted to live-action, Marvel might have to recast some roles. The studio may just decide to do another separate iteration of the team for the inevitable film reboot.
But anything can happen – Marvel Studios is bringing back a show we long thought dead. We can only see what the future brings. For more Marvel, check out our guide to Marvel Phase 5 and learn everything we know about all of the upcoming Marvel movies on the horizon.
For even more Marvel fun, check out our guide to She-Hulk season 2 and find out about the time Captain Marvel joined the X-Men in a perfect MCU story. We’ve also got a list of all the new movies coming in 2023, and you can see our picks for the best TV series of all time.