If you grew up in the 1990s there is a good chance that some of your earliest exposure to the world of superheroes was through Fox Kids’ X-Men: The Animated Series (1992). The show was formative for countless future comic book fans, with Marvel’s merry band of mutants being some of the first heroes an entire generation would experience. The series was a smash hit with audiences during its all too short run from 1992-1997. Now, thanks to the team at Disney, an entirely new generation is about to be introduced to this classic series in a whole new way!
During their massive Disney+ Day festivities, Disney announced countless new projects and released sneak previews for many of their big brands including Pixar, Star Wars, and, of course, Marvel. One major surprise that fans didn’t see coming is the return of X-Men: The Animated Series with an all-new series titled X-Men ’97! Disney had kept things quiet on this revival of the classic series, which is set to pick up immediately after the events of the original series finale. To put a cherry on top of this exciting announcement, Disney made the reveal using the popular ‘Sad Wolverine Reminiscing’ meme format!
We’ve missed you, too. See you in 2023 with all-new episodes. 🥲 #XMen97 #DisneyPlusDay pic.twitter.com/uSqJeU5wtc
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) November 12, 2021
Details are scarce as to what we can expect from X-Men ’97.What is known is that it is a direct continuation of the original show that will be picking up immediately after the events of the series finale which saw the death and resurrection (big surprise) of Charles Xavier before the X-Men founder departed to live among the stars with the Shi’Ar Empire. There is no word on if Charles Xavier will remain a key player on the new series or not.
If all of this wasn’t exciting enough, Disney also confirmed that many of the shows original voice cast will be returning for the series revival, including Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Catherine Disher (Jean Grey), Chris Potter (Gambit), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Beast), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler), Christopher Britton (Mister Sinister), and Alyson Court (Jubilee). The returning cast members will be joined by plenty of new faces as well with Jennifer Hale, Anniwaa Buachie, Ray Chase, Matthew Waterson, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Jeff Bennett, and AJ LoCascio all on board the show.
Writers Eric and Julia Lewald, who previously worked on the original X-Men: The Animated Series, are back for X-Men ’97 as story consultants. Beau DeMayo will serve as head writer and executive producer on the new show.
X-Men ’97 is currently in active development and is set to premiere exclusively on Disney+ sometime in 2023! This means you’ve got plenty of time to catch up and rewatch the entire five-season run of the original X-Men: The Animated Series, which is itself currently available for streaming now on Disney+!
Are you excited to see new adventures set in the world of X-Men: The Animated Series? Or do you think the show has been gone long enough and we should try something new? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and be sure to stick around Geek Anything for more X-Men updates!
