Marvel Studio’s X-Men ’97 has been wreaking havoc across the fandom for its incredible storyline, marvellous characters, nostalgic theme, and adrenaline-packed action. While the animated series continues to garner praise, many have been wondering why Beau DeMayo, the series’ showrunner, was allegedly fired by Marvel.
Just a week before X-Men ’97’s release, DeMayo and Marvel apparently parted ways. While that does seem to be as concerning, it becomes more concerning given DeMayo’s history with Henry Cavill’s The Witcher.
X-Men ’97’s Beau DeMayo and The Witcher Fiasco
The Witcher will be ending after season 5, announced Netflix after replacing Henry Cavill with Liam Hemsworth (via THR). While it caused quite a bit of controversy, the biggest of all was how Beau DeMayo, one of the writers on the show, alleged that the writers behind the Netflix series were completely aversive to the source material.
While conversing with his fans on Instagram stories, the writer had stated (via The Direct),
“I’ve been on show – namely Witcher – where some of the writers were not or actively disliked the books and games (even actively mocking the source material.) It’s a recipe for disaster and bad morale. Fandom as a litmus test checks egos, and makes all the long nights worth it. You have to respect the work before you’re allowed to add to its legacy.”
Henry Cavill’s statement to the Philippine Star in December 2021 about the toughest part is finding that balance between the showrunners’ vision and his love for the books and Andrzej Sapkowski’s (writer of The Witcher books) statement that Netflix ignored his ideas of how his books should be adapted (via Cerealkillerz), seem to support Beau DeMayo’s’s claims.
Yet one writer of The Witcher, Matthew D’ambrosio, blasted DeMayo for allegedly lying and spreading false rumors in a series of now-deleted X posts.
The Witcher Writer Blasted Beau DeMayo For Allegedly Lying
As soon as Beau DeMayo’s comments regarding The Witcher’s writers’ room went viral, many seemed to take his comments as the reason why Henry Cavill left the show. Cavill, who is known to be a huge Witcher fan, was said to leave the show because of creative differences (see The Direct and Vulture), although no real reason has been given from either the crew of the Netflix show or Cavill.
Meanwhile, DeMayo, who has also been recently fired from his show, X-Men ’97 (via Variety), was cruelly blasted by one The Witcher writer for allegedly lying and telling false tales.
“It’s pretty Cool™️ and Fun™️ to try and talk about how much you love your job and then get replies like this cause some asshole you used to work with made up a bunch of lies to your fanbase to cover up how he got fired for being an asshole and now that’s the narrative.”
Stated Matthew D’ambrosio, in a now-deleted tweet (via Geeks and Gamers). While he went on to state that he had read the books and played the games before he got the opportunity of a lifetime, DeMayo’s comments had already spread with fans even supporting him since many of them had found the Netflix series a gross adaptation of the books (see Reddit).
While The Witcher controversy still looming at large, DeMayo’s recent firing from X-Men ’97, despite being the showrunner and EP, seems to have confused fans further (see Reddit). Yet, it is important to remember that multiple perspectives often exist.
As fans scratch their heads to find the truth out, they hope that the show continues to bring joy despite the behind-the-scenes turmoil and not end up like The Witcher, whose ratings seemed to have reached a whole new level with the release of season 3 last year (see Forbes).
While The Witcher can be streamed on Netflix, X-Men ’97 is streaming on Disney+.
