Should Marvel Studios Build a Shared Universe Based on Animated '90s Series? Rumor Has It They Are
X-Men '97 is a huge hit with fans! The series has been pulling in big streaming numbers, and it currently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. With the kind of big success that the show is seeing, it would make sense for Marvel to want to lean into that.
Well, a new rumor that originated from The Cosmic Circus, "There have been discussions about exploring a Marvel 90s animated universe, which would most likely be explored through X-Men '97 at this time."
The report adds, "There is potential for more projects to be developed within this universe, the most likely candidate being a sequel series to Spider-Man: The Animated Series, but this is still very early in development as an idea being tossed around."
You know, this could be really cool if properly handled. The ‘90s Spider-Man: The Animated Series showrunner John Semper Jr., recently shared that he would love a Spider-Man ‘94 revival. A fan reached out to Semper Jr. on social media to ask whether he'd be interested in resurrecting the show, and he said: “All they have to do is call me. I'm here, and I'd certainly consider doing it.”
The Spider-Man series ended with a huge cliffhanger as Mary Jane Watson was still missing and the Spider-Verse was even in play. It would be awesome to see that story pick up were it left off.
Some of the other Marvel shows from the ‘90s include Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, and The Avengers: United They Stand. None of those were as popular as X-Men and Spider-Man, though.
The ‘90s shows already did crossover with each other, and one of the biggest crossovers was with Spider-Man: The Animated Series, where the X-Men appear in a two-part episode. Since series crossovers were already in play, they might as well just do it!
There are a lot of different directions they could take this concept and if this is something that actually follow through with, I’d be curious as to what shows they would develop and what characters they would focus on.
Do you think Marvel should build a shared universe based on the animated ‘90s shows? What show would you like to see get made?