When is the X-Men ’97 release date? After 25 years, X-Men: The Animated Series is returning to our screens. The new series will be a direct sequel to the beloved five-season show that was a staple for comic book and superhero fans who grew up in the ’90s.
Yes, this means popular X-Men characters Wolverine, Jean Grey, Magneto, Cyclops, Jubilee, Beast, and more, all in their classic ’90s costumes, fighting the good fight in the TV series. Oftentimes, this means battling each other, as Magneto vies to take over the world with mutant powers, while Professor X’s gifted children want to find a better way to coexist with people who don’t have any powers.
The animated series promises to be a nostalgia trip that also reinvigorates the sci-fi series for a modern audience. What will the X-Men ’97 release date bring to the MCU? Are all the original cast members back on the Disney Plus show? And, seriously, how will it continue the story of the X-Men mutants? We’ve tapped into Cerebro (the internet) to bring you up to date on mutants and where to find them.
X-Men ’97 release date speculation
As of May 2023, we know that the X-Men ’97 release date is set for Autumn 2023 and that the show will debut on Disney Plus.
The news was announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 as part of Marvel’s animation panel.
X-Men ’97 cast
Many of the original voice actors are coming back for X-Men ’97.
Cal Dodd is back as Wolverine, a surefire relief to anyone who watched in the ’90s, Lenore Zann is still Rogue, George Buza returns as Hank ‘Beast’ McCoy, Alison Sealy-Smith is back for Ororo ‘Storm’ Munroe, Adrian Hough is Nightcrawler, Chris Potter is voicing Gambit, Catherine Disher will return as Jean Grey, and Christopher Britton has Mister Sinister covered.
Beyond that, a number of high-profile actors are attached in undisclosed roles. Jennifer Hale and Jeff Bennett have both been alongside a list of others, all for unknown characters. Curiously, Jubilee still hasn’t had her performer announced. We’ll have to wait to hear more.
Here’s the X-Men ’97 cast list:
- Cal Dodd as James Howlett/Wolverine
- Lenore Zann as Anna-Marie Raven/Rogue
- Chris Potter as Remy LeBeau/Gambit
- Alison Sealy-Smith as Ororo Munroe/Storm
- George Buza as Dr Henry ‘Hank’ McCoy/Beast
- Catherine Disher as Jean Grey
- Adrian Hough as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler
- Christopher Britton as Nathaniel Essex/Mister Sinister
- Jennifer Hale as TBA
- Anniwaa Buachie as TBA
- Ray Chase as TBA
- Matthew Waterson as TBA
- Alyson Court as TBA
- J.P. Karliak as TBA
- Holly Chou as TBA
- Jeff Bennett as TBA
- A.J. LoCascio as TBA
We’ll be keeping this list updated are more are revealed.
X-Men ’97 plot
The X-Men ’97 plot 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.
The brief but official series synopsis is as follows:
“Storm and Wolverine try to continue the X-Men. Magneto comes in and wants to step up for Charles Xavier. Sinister comes in to try to end the X-Men once and for all.”
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In March 2023, showrunner Beau DeMayo revealed at a virtual event (via The Direct) that the attempted assassination of Professor X has led to increased sympathy for mutants in the world, with Cyclops and Storm stepping up in Professor X’s absence.
He added: “This is gonna kind of come to a head and leads our X-Men to say, ‘What does our future hold for us? We weren’t expecting this.’ And you’re gonna have Cyclops and Storm really wanting to carry on the dream. And they’ve recruited Morph and Bishop to actually become full-time members of the team.”
Of course, Professor X’s condition is paramount, especially in light of the power vacuum he’s left behind. And this will lead to the return of Magneto, according to DeMayo. “Of course, somebody shows up who shouldn’t show up and it’s Magneto, who’s also kind of feeling like, ‘You know, Professor X, he did a solid for mutantkind. I’m going to try to walk in his footsteps. I’m going to try to be a force of good for mutantkind’.”
We also know that Sunspot, Cable, Bishop and Nightcrawler will be joining the team, which is good because they’ll be facing Mister Sinister and his experiments on mutants, the ever-present threat of the Sentinels, and the Hellfire club.
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.
X-Men ’97 trailer
As it stands, there is no trailer for X-Men ’97 just yet.
But we’ll be sure and keep you updated when one comes, so make sure you check back.
Where can I watch X-Men ’97?
X-Men ’97 will stream on Disney Plus when it’s released.
This streaming service 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.
Of course, we’d have our fingers crossed more for further seasons, but we’ll have to make do with what we get for now.
Is X-Men ’97 part of the MCU?
The official word so far is that X-Men ’97 does 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 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.
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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.
For more Marvel fun, here are our guides to She-Hulk season 2, Loki season 2, and the Marvel series ranked from worst to best. We’ve also got a list of all the new movies coming in 2023.
