Late last year, a rumor did the rounds that the highly-anticipated second season of X-Men '97 wouldn't premiere until 2026, and the lengthy wait has now been confirmed by Marvel's Brad Winderbaum.
"Season 2 of X-Men ‘97 is going to be in ‘26. We're working on it now," Winderbaum tells Collider. "It's exciting. That world of the ‘90s is just… Honestly, I can't believe they let me make it. I grew up at Marvel, as you know, clocked a lot of time here, and I feel like I used a lot of currency to revive this thing that I loved watching after school. So, the fact that we get to play in that universe with those actors is honestly why I went into this business in the first place."
When asked if we could expect more animated shows - and possibly a feature - to be announced soon, Winderbaum played it a little closer to the vest.
"It's all in the preliminary. As you know, we're developing more than we make, so I don't want to announce anything before it's ready. But there's hopefully some exciting stuff on the horizon."
Honestly, if the scripts for season 2 of X-Men '97 are still being worked on, we'd say 2026 might even be ambitious when you consider how time-consuming a full season of animated television is to produce.
Although the recent Disney+ show served as a revival of an animated series that aired 25 years ago, the decision was made to keep the action rooted firmly in the original era. But with reports that Marvel Studios fully intends to keep the show going for as long as possible, could the mutant heroes make the jump into the noughties?
During a 2024 interview with Discussing Film, supervising director Jake Castorena was asked if they intend to hold on to the '90s aesthetic, and if he anticipates the show taking influence from later comic book runs for the second season.
"We touched on that, even in season one with E is for Extinction, which was definitely not of the ’90s run per se but in the zeitgeist of the era that came a little later," he replied. "Once so much time passes, that’s pretty much late ’90s — we’re still dressing like that. That’s how I validate it, 'When did the clothing style change?' That’s the time we’re in. We play with a little time fudging, like in E is for Extinction. But, to your point, there are 30-plus years since the show’s been over where the comics have expanded. Speaking in comic book lore, past and present, X-Men is and always should be an allegory for prejudice, first and foremost. The minute you take that element away, you’ve automatically taken away the excellence."
In the season 1 finale, the team managed to defeat Bastion and prevent Asteroid M from destroying the planet, but the heroes somehow ended up being transported through time in the process, where some of them encountered a younger En Sabah Nur. There are obviously plenty of '90s-set Apocalypse stories to adapt, but having covered some of them in the original series, we wouldn't be surprised if season 2 at least touched upon some of the villain's 2000s exploits.
Castorena didn't confirm any potential story arcs, but did mention a couple of iconic runs.
"The X-Men always should be the underdogs," he continued. "There’s a reason why they’re not tattered or received as well as The Avengers. But there’s also a reason why they work so well, and why they have things like the Danger Room. While the Avengers might just wing that shit, the X-Men work together. They have their squabbles, they have their drama, their love triangles, though they always come back together as a unit. When using the Chris Claremont or Jim Lee runs, or even pulling from Giant-Size X-Men, they are all great but, also, I think it’s fair to say that enough time has passed to where we can fudge a little bit of that time bringing in early 2000s stories."
X-Men '97's voice cast includes Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, JP Karliak as Morph, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto and Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler.
Beau DeMayo, who was fired as showrunner prior to the premiere, serves as head writer, while episodes are directed by Jake Castorena, Chase Conley and Emi Yonemura. Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso and DeMayo executive produce.
What did you think of the first season of X-Men '97? Drop us a comment down below.
"A band of mutants use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them; they're challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future. New Episodes, New Era," reads the official synopsis.