X-MEN '97 Showrunner Reveals Who The Two Main Characters of The Series Will Be
It’s pretty wild that after all these years the classic X-Men animated series from the 90s is going to continue in a new series, X-Men ‘97, which picks up right where the original series left off.
The series starts with Magneto and the X-Men after Professor X left for Shi'ar space in the original show's series finale. The series brings back the original voice cast including Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Beast), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm), Chris Potter (Gambit), Catherine Disher (Jean Grey), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler), and Christopher Britton (Minister Sinister).
The official synopsis reads: "Storm and Wolverine try to continue the X-Men. Magneto comes in and wants to step up for Charles Xavier. Sinister comes in to try to end the X-Men once and for all."
We now know the two main characters that the series will revolve around. Beau DeMayo, who is serving as Head Writer and showrunner of X-Men '97, revealed in response to a fan page tweet that Cyclops and Storm will be the main characters of the revival series. In the tweet, DeMayo wrote, "Storm and CYLCOPS are the main characters lol."
I just can’t wait to start seeing some actual stuff for the series! More images, a trailer, something! The creative team is pretty much giving us breadcrumbs at this point.
It was previously confirmed some other characters that will appear in the series include Bishop, Cable, Forge, Morph, Nightcrawler, Sunspot, Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, and Callisto. Some of the other voice cast members include Jennifer Hale, Anniwaa Buachie, Ray Chase, Matthew Waterson, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Jeff Bennett, and AJ LoCascio.
When previously talking about the series, consulting producers Eric and Julia Lewald, who worked on the original series as writers and producers, said: "They want it to be an extension [of X-Men: The Animated Series]. Whoever it is doing this new show is going to make it their own, no matter who is involved in it. There is great love and affection and respect from an entire group of people that are doing this show, starting at the top with Beau DeMayo, who's the showrunner."
Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation at Marvel Studios, previously shared: "This is the first X-Men title produced by Marvel Studios," says Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation at Marvel Studios told the This Week in Marvel podcast following the Disney+ Day announcement last year. "What an amazing first step to reintroduce audiences to the X-Men with a look at one of the most pinnacle eras of the X-Men comics, which was the '90s. That iconic style that has its roots in Chris Claremont, and is celebrated in Jim Lee, and then again in The Animated Series. Over the years, as we've met with so many filmmakers who have come in to pitch on various projects, the touchstone that we hear over and over again is X-Men: The Animated Series."
Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, VP of Animation at Marvel Studios added: "As an animated show, the original X-Men was the forerunner to some amazing action series. Everyone that is making X-Men '97, top-down, is a fan. On this project, instinctually, we knew exactly what this is. To bring this series forward and pick up that baton, and not just keep running at the same pace, but to really elevate. That's the responsibility."
Beau DeMayo is the head writer and executive producer of X-Men '97. Jake Castorena is the supervising director and Charley Feldman is the supervising producer. X-Men '97 will debut on Disney+ in fall 2023.
Voice actor Cal Dodd also previously revealed the series was getting a Season 2!