X-Men ’97 delivered one of the most hard-hitting character deaths when the animated series killed off the fan-favorite mutant Gambit. In the show’s fifth episode, Gambit sacrifices himself to save the other mutants, dying a heroic death. However, voice actor Chris Potter is seemingly unhappy with the character’s fate.
During a recent convention appearance, Potter voiced his displeasure with Marvel killing off Gambit, a character he had previously voiced. After Potter’s comments, fans dismayed with Gambit’s demise quickly came to his support. Meanwhile, Potter also commented on his future within the animated X-Men universe, and here is what the veteran voice actor had to say.
Fans Support Original Gambit Voice Actor Chris Potter After X-Men ’97 Tragedy
Created by Beau DeMayo, X-Men ’97 serves as a continuation of the 90s X-Men: The Animated Series. In the show’s fifth episode, Gambit sacrifices himself to save his loved ones. However, the decision to kill off the character did not sit right with voice actor Chris Potter.
Potter voiced Remy LeBeau / Gambit in all five seasons of the original animated series, as well as Spider-Man: The Animated Series in the crossover episodes between the two shows in the 90s. During an appearance at the Calgary Expo 2024, Potter voiced his fury over Gambit’s death.
Chris Potter on Gambit's death in 'X-MEN '97'
“I'm still angry that they did it.”#CalgaryExpo2024 pic.twitter.com/mEamyOvsI8
— Agents of Fandom (@AgentsFandom) April 26, 2024
After Potter expressed his anger over the writers killing off Gambit, fans quickly came to the voice actor’s support on social media. One X user shared that they were equally angry with Gambit’s death in the animated series.
“I’m angry because we lost a good character who is amazing on his own. We saw how cool he was in episode 5 and they just killed him off to push rogue and magneto. It’s a joke.”
The user made the above comment highlighting how Gambit’s death did not work for them. Meanwhile, another user stated that the character likely meant a lot to Potter, and his anger was justified, especially since he had voiced Gambit for a long time.
Chris Potter Talks About Not Returning to Voice Gambit, and New X-Men Role
During the same convention appearance, Potter also discussed why he did not return to voice Gambit for X-Men ’97. Potter revealed that he wasn’t approached to voice Gambit and was told early on that the character would be killed off. Instead, the makers wanted him to play a different character.
“They told me I’d be playing a new character. I said, what do you mean? I’m Gambit. They said, Not anymore, we’re killing him off in episode 3. You’re going to be Cable now.”
Potter made the above statement (via @AgentsFandom) at Calgary Expo 2024. For X-Men ’97, A. J. LoCascio took over the role of Gambit. Meanwhile, Potter is set to voice Cable / Nathan Summers, whose adult version from the future made his debut in the show’s most recent seventh episode.
Potter also commented on how his new character, Cable, could be the key to reviving Gambit from the dead. As a result, Potter implied that Cable’s time-traveling connections could be used to resurrect Gambit during the show’s three-part first-season finale Tolerance Is Extinction.
X-Men ’97 is streaming on Disney+.
