X-Men ’97 opened to positive reviews on Disney+ and many critics hailed it as a nostalgic throwback to the original X-Men: The Animated Series. Just before its release, the showrunner Beau DeMayo exited the series for some unspecified reason, starting a whole new rumor mill on the internet. When he was part of the show, DeMayo revealed that Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films would have never happened if it was not for the original X-Men animated series.
The original show ran from 1992 to 1997 and garnered a whole generation of kids and young adults as fans of the show. The new series picks up from the events of the finale of X-Men: The Animated Series and brings back most of the original cast.
X-Men ’97 Creator Claims The Original X-Men Series Paved The Way For Spider-Man Films
Marvel Studios announced the reboot of the nostalgic X-Men: The Animated Series in November 2021 and later attached Beau DeMayo as its creator. The series, X-Men ’97, brought most of the original cast back and had a passionate team, who were fans of the original series, working behind the scenes. The first season of the series will feature 10 episodes, out of which two dropped on Wednesday on Disney+.
The X-Men members — Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Gambit, Beast, Jubilee, and Morph — returned for the new series. The original series aired on Fox Kids for five seasons and ended in a tragic finale episode, Graduation Day, where the team lost Professor Charles Xavier. According to DeMayo, the series, which ended in 1997, started a new wave in the superhero genre at the time.
The showrunner believed that the ripple effect of the series is even seen today. The MCU’s iconic Captain America and Iron Man would have never existed if it were not for the series. DeMayo explained to EW that Bryan Singer‘s live-action X-Men movies happened as a direct result of the success of X-Men: The Animated Series.
The successful movies in the early 2000s paved the way for Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man film which truly kicked off the whole Marvel phenomenon. DeMayo told EW:
“In many ways, I came to X-Men 1 because I watched the cartoon and I was so enamored with it. I sincerely believe if X-Men 1 hadn’t done well, [Sam Raimi’s] Spider-Man 1 would never have happened. If Spider-Man had never happened, we would never be where we are with comic book movies now.”
In the sense that DeMayo explained, X-Men: The Animated Series can be considered as a genre-defining screen project of the ’90s. The new series successfully carries the nostalgic elements of the old series and is a testament to the legacy of its predecessor.
X-Men ’97 Returning Cast Fondly Remembers The Original Series
In an interview with EW, Storm voice actress Alison Sealy-Smith and Rogue voice actress Lenore Zann opened up about the original series. For Sealy-Smith, the Storm character tapped into her experience in Shakespearean theater. She shared, “I was made for these beautiful one-liners: ‘Summoning the power of the arctic winds!’ ‘Rise, desert sands!’ I was in my element.”
Lenore Zann shared that the Hollywood studios initially turned down director Larry Houston’s pitch for the series. They had no faith in an animated series about a bunch of superheroes. She revealed that she would come across fans who cosplay as her version of Rogue when she attended conventions. She added that even men wore the Rogue costume, breaking the barriers of gender. Zann told EW:
“It doesn’t matter what gender or what nationality or what ethnicity they are, I always say there’s a little Rogue in all of us. That’s great that they can take the essence of that character and feel that she is also within them.”
X-Men ’97 episodes 1 & 2 are streaming on Disney+, while further episodes will hit the streaming platform every Wednesday.
