X-Men ’97 dropped its first two episodes on Wednesday on Disney+ and fans were transported back to the nostalgic times of X-Men: The Animated Series. The new series is neither a reboot nor a remake of the old series, but a continuation. The animation team had to work within the parameters of the nineties. The biggest challenge for them was the technological advancements in animation between the original show and this new show.
X-Men: The Animated Series ended in 1997 with the death of the X-Men leader Professor Charles Xavier. The new series begins with the characters struggling to fulfill Professor X’s dream of coexistence. Despite being a continuation, viewers need not freshen up their memories of the old series to watch X-Men ’97.
X-Men ’97 Producer Reveals Why Technology Was A Challenge For The Show’s Animation
Marvel Studios announced X-Men ’97 back in November 2021, under the banner of Marvel Animation (via THR). Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios Head of TV, Streaming, and Animation, revealed that the intention of the new series was not to create a show that takes place in 2024, with redesigned characters. Winderbaum and the team behind the series wanted to take audiences back to the ’90s and give them the essence of the original influential series.
However, this was no easy feat. Continuing a ’90s show in modern times meant that the team had to work within the parameters of the nineties. Winderbaum shared that the entire crew had to follow a new rulebook for the series as the series told superhero stories before the times of the internet and cell phones.
When Winderbaum approached Kevin Feige with the series idea, he only had two conditions for greenlighting the project. The series had to bring the original voice cast back and use the original theme song. Winderbaum shared that bringing the old cast back helped in emulating the memory of the crew about the original series. The series even sought help from Eric Lewald, the co-creator of the original series, and Larry Houston, the director.
However, one factor that was supposed to help the series served as its biggest challenge. There have been significant technological advancements in animation since the original show ended in 1997. However, Winderbaum’s crew had to work under the limitations that Lewald and Houston had during the run of the original show. Winderbaum shared in his interview with The Walt Disney Company:
“We needed to create our own rulebook based on the limitations that Larry and Lewald were under when they made the original show. [This meant] staying in a nineties aesthetic locked in flat space storytelling with big bold colors, staying on the x/y axis as much as possible.”
Winderbaum also promised that the show would explore dramatic depths like its predecessor. He was sure that the new audiences would be surprised at how impactful some of the X-Men stories were on screen.
X-Men ’97 Did Use The Help Of New Technologies At Certain Places
Brad Winderbaum also shared that certain scenes in the new show broke the restrictions of technology but for a very valid reason. The rules were set aside when the drama of the story demanded it or when the original creators’ ambitions were to be fulfilled in the new series. Interestingly, X-Men: The Animated Series had several hand-drawn sequences that did not make it into the series just because the creators lacked the technology required.
Winderbaum explained one particular Rogue scene that finally received a screen adaptation desired by Larry Houston. Winderbaum shared (via The Walt Disney Company):
“[There’s a scene] where Rogue flips that bad guy over her that—if you watch the original opening—that’s a much shorter shot. We extended it and did this shot that matched [Houston’s] original storyboards from the nineties.”
The series premiere achieved a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes (as of writing), while the audience score is not far behind at 93%. X-Men ’97 episodes 1 & 2 are streaming on Disney+, while further episodes will hit the streaming platform every Wednesday.
