Marvel’s X-Men ‘97 has been receiving rave reviews ever since it began airing. The show is a revival of the popular ‘90s show X-Men: The Animated Series, with many of the original voice actors returning. The show was created by Beau DeMayo, who was fired from the series a few weeks before its airing.
While no proper reason has been given for his dismissal, DeMayo took to social media to address questions regarding the show and reveal trivia. He reportedly mentioned that the show was partly based on the first script he had ever written, which was a fan-fiction sequel to Hugh Jackman’s X-Men.
Beau DeMayo Based X-Men ‘97 On His Unused X-Men Sequel Script
The first X-Men film by Bryan Singer has often been regarded as one of the best superhero films ever made. The Hugh Jackman starrer gave a new identity to superhero films when it was not taken seriously by the industry before. It launched Fox Studio’s X-Men franchise, which would last for almost two decades before the studio was acquired by Disney.
The X-Men film also reportedly inspired writer and showrunner Beau DeMayo to write a spec script for a sequel. The writer reportedly said that he was so enamored by the film that he wrote his first script as a sequel to X-Men. He also mentioned that the show X-Men ‘97, which he created and was fired from, borrowed many elements from that first script (via X).
X-Men got a sequel, X2, which has been celebrated even more than its predecessor. DeMayo mentioned on X (formerly Twitter) that his fan fiction had quite a few similarities with the released sequel. When fans asked him to share the script, he declined saying, “Some day. It’s actually pretty terrible and I knew NOTHING about formatting lol”.
Beau DeMayo was dismissed from his own show a few weeks before the premiere. No reasons were given for his dismissal. DeMayo had always been public about his identity as a gay man and reportedly also ran a non-explicit OnlyFans account (via THR).
Fans Campaign For Beau DeMayo’s Return After The Success of X-Men ‘97
Beau DeMayo was fired from his show X-Men ‘97 reportedly after he had finished his writing duties on the second season. He reportedly also had ideas of where the third season would go. A few weeks after his dismissal and ahead of the airing of Episode 5 of X-Men ‘97, DeMayo took to X to speak about his inspiration for the show and the episode was central to his pitch to Marvel. He said,
“Episode 5 was the centerpiece of my pitch to Marvel in November 2020. The idea being to have the X-Men mirror the journey that any of us who grew up on the original show have experienced since being kids in the ’90s…Then 9/11 happened and the world turned against itself.”
DeMayo mentioned how the event was the time when he had chosen to come out of the closet to his family and he also mentioned how the event changed how people viewed each other. DeMayo compared many of his comfort zones in the world like the Pulse Club (where a mass shooting occurred in 2016) to Genosha (via X).
After Beau DeMayo mentioned that he had written a spec script for an X-Men sequel, fans began to campaign for his reinstatement in the series.
X-Men 97' is special. Marvel needs to come to their senses and bring Beau back.
— WJ (@js293752) April 26, 2024
As someone who has written a LOT of #XMen fan fiction over the years, this just warms my heart with omega level joy. 😊
— Jack Fisher (@MarvelMaster616) April 26, 2024
pls marvel hire him to write the movies
— Maxxxx_idk (@Matabak24) April 26, 2024
Why did they have to fire him
— MovieHotShots (@MovieHotShots) April 26, 2024
97’s Characters are better written then that sequal….and I actually liked that movie.
— Thick-thighed Goth Boyfriend (@MisterWulfzz) April 26, 2024
Give that man job back
— interwebtweeb (@LoudNUTKing7) April 26, 2024
Though it is still unclear why the showrunner was ousted from his own show, fans seem to want more of DeMayo’s vision in the series, which has been receiving positive responses.
X-Men ‘97 is streaming on Disney+.
