The X-Men are back with a new animated series. Marvel unveiled the first teaser trailer for X-Men ‘97, a continuation of its popular ‘90s cartoon X-Men: The Animated Series. According to Entertainment Weekly, the series picks up after the death of Charles Xavier in the original show’s 1997 finale. Now, Cyclops leads the team on new adventures as they grapple with the legacy Xavier left them.
Joining the voice cast are Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, JP Karliak as Morph, Lenore Zann as Rogue, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto. Additionally, X-Men ‘97 will feature returning voices from the original show including Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, George Buza as Beast, Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler, and Chris Britton as the villainous Mister Sinister.
X-Men ’97 will be the first X-Men TV show in 13 years. After the original X-Men: The Animated Series came X-Men: Evolution in 2000. In 2009 came Wolverine and the X-Men. Following that, the franchise had two mini-anime series released in 2011 titled X-Men and Wolverine.
Directing X-Men ‘97’s episodes are Jake Castorena, Chase Conley, and Emi Yonemura. Working alongside them is the series’ head writer Beau DeMayo. Additionally, the show will feature music by The Newton Brothers. DeMayo gave Entertainment Weekly a glimpse at what’s in store concerning the characters’ storylines. Alongside characters like Jean Grey and Rogue, Cyclops’ son from an alternate future, Cable, is confirmed to be getting a “major arc.”
“It’s always interesting to take Xavier’s dream and turn it on its head,” said DeMayo. “When I first came to this, I was thinking about what the world of the ’90s was like, even issues of social acceptance and what does it mean to be different? It was so much more simplistic than it is today. [The X-Men] spent years telling humanity to embrace the future, walk into the future together. What happens when they get hit with a future they didn’t see coming? What does it feel like to be on the other end when you feel like that future is leaving you behind?”
Marvel fans will get to experience the new stories awaiting in X-Men ’97 when it arrives March 20th on Disney+.
