Deadpool’s X-MEN ’97 Season 2 Trailer Cameo Addressed By Marvel’s Brad Winderbaum
Marvel fans were quick to hit the pause button when the first trailer for X-Men ’97 Season 2 dropped. One of the biggest talking points came from a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment involving Morph, who briefly transforms into Deadpool.
Naturally, that was enough to send fans into speculation mode, wondering if Wade Wilson is finally set to make a proper animated appearance in the hit series.
Now, Marvel executive Brad Winderbaum has weighed in on the conversation, though he isn’t giving away much.
During an interview with Screen Rant at the Tribeca Film Festival, Winderbaum, who serves as Marvel’s Head of Television, Animation, Comics and Franchise, was asked about Morph’s Deadpool transformation and whether it could be hinting at the Merc with a Mouth showing up for real in the animated universe.
Rather than confirming or denying anything, Winderbaum offered a playful tease: “You never know… There are some fun plot lines coming up for some other characters that you caught only brief glimpses of in the OG series that I am so flippin’ excited to get on screen.”
That answer is vague enough to keep fans guessing, but it certainly doesn’t close the door on Deadpool making an appearance.
The executive also discussed how Season 2 continues to embrace the larger Marvel Universe. While several mutants remain scattered throughout time following the events of Season 1, fans shouldn't expect the series to suddenly become focused on outside heroes stepping in to save the day.
Winderbaum explained: “One of the things I love about X-Men ’97 and tapping into that 90s Saturday morning mythology is that it is like the full breadth of the 616.”
He went on to add: “[It] kind of exists in the background. So the Avengers are around, and other characters are around, and you really never know who you’re gonna bump into. And like reading Marvel Comics, it’s always fun when there [are] those collisions.”
That philosophy has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of X-Men ’97. The series acknowledges the wider Marvel world without letting it overshadow the X-Men's story. Still, it leaves plenty of room for surprise appearances from familiar faces.
Interestingly, this isn't the first time Winderbaum has addressed Deadpool's absence from the show. Back in May 2024, he explained that keeping Wade Wilson out of the series wasn't due to any hard rule from Marvel. Instead, it came down to timing.
At the time, X-Men ’97 and Deadpool & Wolverine were both being developed simultaneously, and Marvel didn't see a strong enough reason to force the character into the animated series.
As Winderbaum put it: “Unless it was something that really was an undeniable creative idea, it seemed like, ‘Why would we do it?'”
He also noted that the show was already “chock-full of big, giant, amazing, fulfilling ideas,” while making it clear that a future appearance wasn't off the table. After all, Deadpool did briefly pop up in the original X-Men: The Animated Series, which means there is already a connection to that corner of Marvel animation history.
Whether Morph’s transformation was simply a fun Easter egg or a hint at bigger plans remains to be seen. But with Marvel continuing to expand the world of X-Men ’97, and Winderbaum teasing storylines involving characters who only had brief appearances in the original series, fans have every reason to keep their eyes peeled.
X-Men ’97 Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on July 1, and it sounds like there may be a few surprises waiting when the X-Men return.