New X-Men '97 Season 2 promo art (first shared on Toonado.com) fully reveals the show's present-day team—once they return from the past and future—and the mutants are decked out in costumes inspired by Grant Morrison's New X-Men run.
Not only does this seem to imply that the series is moving into the 2000s, but the artwork also features new suits for characters who didn't factor into that series. Sadly, there's no sign of Emma Frost, though that could always change as this story continues.
As you'll see below, Professor X leads a team that includes Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Bishop, and Polaris. There are some noteworthy absences, though, including Wolverine, Morph, and Jubilee.
It seems the team's absence from the present will lead to the emergence of at least two more teams: X-Force and X-Factor. The former includes Cable, Archangel, Psylocke, Sunspot, and Jubilee. The latter, meanwhile, has Havok, Polaris, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Multiple Man, and Val Cooper.
Asked if fans can expect Rogue to seek out Gambit—who will likely be resurrected as Death, one of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen—voice actress Lenore Zann previously said, "That was a very clever question, and I'm not going to completely answer it other than to say there are Easter eggs in there for fans to follow up."
"In season two, I have already recorded season two, and I love Rogue's journey," she continued. "She is continuing on her journey, and she wants justice for Remy, and she won't let anything or anybody stop her."
After launching in March 2024, the X-Men: The Animated Series revival quickly became a hit with fans and successfully lived up to its predecessor. Beau DeMayo developed much of Season 2, so Season 3 will be the big test of whether the show can keep its momentum going without him at the helm.
What If...?'s Matthew Chauncey is taking over as showrunner, which worried many fans given the hit-and-miss nature of that Marvel Animation series during its final two seasons on Disney+.
X-Men '97 features the voices of Ray Chase, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, J. P. Karliak, Lenore Zann, George Buza, A. J. LoCascio, Holly Chou, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Matthew Waterson, Ross Marquand, and Adrian Hough. Neve Campbell has denied that she'll lend her voice to Polaris, though the daughter of Magneto is confirmed to appear.
X-Men '97 Season 2 premieres on Disney+ this summer.