Created by Beau DeMayo, X-Men ‘97 is an animated television series based on the Marvel comics superhero team X-Men. The animated series is said to be the revival of 1992’s X-Men: The Animated Series and starts from where the original series ended. The story in X-Men ’97 follows the team facing new challenges following the death of their leader, Professor X.
Several cast members returned to voice their characters from the original series in addition to voicing new characters as well. The series premiered on March 20, 2024, with two episodes on Disney+, and has received positive responses from the audience and critics. Brad Winderbaum, head of streaming television and animation at Marvel Studios, recently shed some light on Beau DeMayo’s departure from the series.
Brad Winderbaum addresses Beau DeMayo’s departure from Marvel’s X-Men ’97
In an exclusive interview with EW, head of streaming television and animation at Marvel Studios, Brad Winderbaum touched upon former show runner Beau DaMayo’s departure from the show. He said,
“I can’t talk about the details, but I can say that Beau had real respect and passion for these characters and wrote what I think are excellent scripts that the rest of the team were able to draw inspiration from to build this amazing show that’s on screen.”
When asked if his departure could be seen as him getting fired, Winderbaum stated that he’d prefer to say that ‘we parted ways’. The head writer had already worked on season two of the animated series, which is yet to be renewed. DeMayo was reportedly fired from the project just a few days before the premiere of Season 1 of X-Men ’97 on Disney+.
Talking to Variety, Marvel’s head of streaming television and animation mentioned,
“He did excellent work writing seasons 1 and 2, and I can’t wait for fans to see the series. The entire team came together to create a revival worthy of the X-Men’s 60-year legacy. From Stan and Jack to Claremont to the Lewalds, we were all truly standing on the shoulders of giants.”
In a report published by THR earlier in March, it was noted that Beau DeMayo would no longer be promoting the show or moving forward with future seasons. It was mentioned that, in addition to having his company email taken down, cast and crew members were informed that he would no longer be working on the project.
DeMayo, who had an active social media account where he’d post his shirtless pictures from the gym or working out, decided to shut it down following the news of his departure from the show.
Original show runner Eric Lewald praised Beau DeMayo for being a super fan
Eric Lewald, whose credits include being the showrunner of 1992’s X-Men: The Animated Series, shared in February that they love and respect Beau DeMayo for taking up the job. He said DeMayo is one of the superfans who knows the show better than the creators.
“He said, ‘We want it to be an extension. We want it to be like the next episode of the show that all of us on staff love and grew up with.’ They could have done a spinoff or a different character or team, and yet they chose to be an extension of our show, which is just ridiculously gratifying to us.”
X-Men ’97’s director Jake Castorena took the help of original director Larry Houston’s original storyboards to include some scenes the animator had to cut. The motto of X-Men ’97 is simple: ‘fresh, but familiar’. Upon asking if there were going to be cameos, Winderbaum mentioned that it’s the same level of cameos as the original series.
X-Men ‘97’s episodes are streaming on Disney+.
