‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ revival is coming to Disney Plus
Kids of the ’90s, rejoice! X-Men: The Animated Series is coming back.
X-Men ’97, a revival of the beloved ’90s children's cartoon series that followed the adventures of Marvel's favorite mutant team, will debut brand new episodes on Disney Plus in 2023. The plot will continue where the original show ended, with key cast members returning to reprise their roles.
Disney made an official announcement on Friday (Nov. 12) during their Disney Plus Day event, where they unveiled a massive slate of brand-new content coming to the streaming service.
.@MarvelStudios' X-Men '97, an animated Original Series, coming in 2023 to #DisneyPlus. #DisneyPlusDay pic.twitter.com/iIicZsE8Ox
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) November 12, 2021
The original superhero animated television series, which ran for five seasons between 1992 and 1997, was the gateway of many fans to the Marvel comic book superheroes like Wolverine, Professor X, Rogue, Gambit, Storm and more.
The show featured characters similar in look and line-up to the early 1990s X-Men drawn by world-renowned comic book artist Jim Lee, mainly the Blue Team established in the early issues of X-Men (vol. 2), composed of Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Jubilee, Jean Grey, Professor X, as well as original character, Morph.
The animated series was also credited for being responsible for the development of the 2000 X-Men film which introduced a then-unknown Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
The Wrap reports that the new animated series is already in production and will pick up after the original ended in September 1997. The final episode featured Professor Charles Xavier gravely injured in an attack by the mutant-hater Henry Peter Gyrich. Xavier's only hope for survival is to take Princess Lilandra up on her offer to leave Earth and head to the Shi'ar empire. The X-Men are joined by their rival and Xavier's best friend, Magneto, to say goodbye to their leader during his final moments on the planet.
Returning voice actors will include Cal Dodd (Logan/Wolverine), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Beast/Dr. Henry “Hank” McCoy), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler), Christopher Britton (Mr. Sinister), Catherine Disher (Jean Grey/Phoenix), Chris Potter (Gambit), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm) and Alyson Court (Jubilee).
New cast members will include Jennifer Hale, Anniwaa Buachie, Ray Chase, Matthew Waterson, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Jeff Bennett, and AJ LoCascio.
Head writer and executive producer on the series is Beau DeMayo. Supervising director is Jake Castorena and supervising producer is Charley Feldman. The series will be produced by Marvel Studios, although it will remain independent from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
X-Men ’97 is set to debut on Disney Plus in 2023.