The Showrunner of Classic 90s X-MEN Animated Series Teases Idea for Season 6
X-Men: The Animated Series was a staple of my Saturday morning cartoons ritual when I was a kid. It was so fantastic from the characters (especially Gambit), to the music, to the crossover with Spider-Man (yeah, that was awesome). It’s fun to go back and re-watch some of those old episodes to enjoy the story as well as to point out how 1990’s that show was. The show ran for 5 seasons, 76 episodes, and left fans wanting more. This desire for more was especially felt since there didn’t seem to be a conclusive end to the series. Enter Eric Lewald.
Lewald was the showrunner for X-Men and he recently wrote a behind the scenes book called Previously on X-Men: The Making of an Animated Series, and while promoting his book, he sat down with SYFY WIRE to talk about the series. Of course, this non-conclusive ending came up and Lewald was asked about “what he’d do with one more arc.” His answer was given on the spot:
“I had honestly never thought about it for all these years, but now that you mention it, an idea for a season just came to me: The five-season series ends with a dying Charles Xavier being whisked away to space by Lilandra, where she can maintain his fragile body, but where it seems he will be gone forever from his beloved X-Men. It’s like a death,” he said, recapping the wrap of his iconic series before getting to the meat of the matter.
”Season Six could open, months later, with the X-Men in disarray – a few gone, the ones remaining at each other’s throats,” Lewald suggested. “They miss their leader. Then somehow they are called to – and transported to – an existential crisis on Lilandra’s distant world. The team grudgingly reunites ‘for Charles,’ heads off to space, solves the crisis, and a somehow-healed Charles Xavier is either able to return to Earth with them or, if he can’t, his heroic final sacrifice heals the team’s wounds and they return to Earth as the proper X-Men again.”
That sounds like an amazing story to tell, and a great way to give proper closure to the series. To further tease fans, Lewald said, “If you’ve got some financing, I know where to find the cast and crew.” So when can we get this funded on Kickstarter or Indiegogo? Would you love this final story arc to become reality? Which was your favorite X-Man (or X-Woman)?