X-MEN '97 Gets a TV-14 Rating and One Member of the Team Is Revealed to Be Nonbinary
It looks like Marvel Animation’s' X-Men '97 revival series is going to be a little darker than the X-Men: The Animated Series we grew up with. It’s also been revealed that one of the key members of the X-Men team will be portrayed as nonbinary.
The first trailer for the series dropped last week and it seemed to get fans really excited about the return of this series. For the most part, fans liked what they saw! We’re now learning that the Disney+ series has been rated TV-14, which is the equivalent to PG-13. I thought this was worth pointing out because the original series was rated TV-Y7.
An official description reads: "This program contains material that most parents would find unsuitable for children under 14 years of age.” So, we can expect the series to explore more mature and hard-hitting themes.
It makes sense that they’d up the maturity level because all the fans of the original series are a lot older now and those are fans are the majority of people who will be tuning in to watch this series.
Then, in the latest issue of Empire Magazine, they revealed an interesting update on the shapeshifting character Morph. It’s been revealed that the character will be portrayed as nonbinary.
According to the report, X-Men '97 will feature a "lighter take on the character, who is nonbinary and has an interesting buddy relationship with Wolverine." Morph was not portrayed in this way in X-Men: The Animated Series or the comics, so this change surprised a lot of fans. At the same time, Morph is a mutant who can transform into both male and female characters.
It's also revealed that Morph's history with Mister Sinister will also "come into play" throughout the series. The character seemingly died in a battle against the Senintels. He survived, though, and found himself falling under Mister Sinister's influence and he split with the X-Men.
Showrunner Beau DeMayo commented on Morph, who will now be voiced by J. P. Karliak, saying: "He really set the stakes, and he had a very interesting relationship with the team because of trauma."
X-Men'97 “revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future."
X-Men '97 is set to premiere on Disney+ on March 20.