It’s time to relive your childhood Saturday mornings!
Get ready for a heady dose of nostalgia because the X-Men are returning to our screens, just as ’90s kids will remember them.
The Marvel characters earned a new generation of fans when they became the stars of a prolific Saturday morning cartoon, which was particularly popular in the United States, where it was watched by tens of millions of households.
The show faithfully and cinematically adapted several famous storylines from the comic books across its five-year run, which came to an end in 1997 – only to be revived now, a quarter of a century later!
Yes, to tide us over until the X-Men return to live-action, Marvel Studios is bringing us a revival of that animated series, which shares the same continuity and picks up exactly where the earlier iteration left off.
Here’s everything you need to know about X-Men ’97.
X-Men ’97 release date
X-Men ’97 will kick off with a double-bill launch on Disney Plus on Wednesday 20th March 2024.
From then, episodes will follow a weekly release schedule until the season finale on Wednesday 15th May.
The revival consists of 10 episodes in total.
X-Men ’97 cast
Longtime fans of the series will be pleased to hear that the original cast of X-Men: The Animated Series are involved in this revival, with several reprising their earlier roles and others switching to new characters.
Cal Dodd, Lenore Zann, George Buza, Alison Sealy-Smith, Adrian Hough and Christopher Britton are back as Wolverine, Rogue, Beast, Storm, Nightcrawler and Mister Sinister, respectively.
The original roles of Catherine Disher, Chris Potter, Alyson Court, Lawrence Bayne, Ron Rubin have been recast, but the voice actors will still feature in the show as other supporting characters.
Replacing them in the roles of Jean Grey, Gambit, Jubilee and Morph are newcomers Jennifer Hale, A J LoCascio, Holly Chou, JP Karliak. Potter will step into the Cable role previously held by Bayne.
The MCU’s resident impressionist Ross Marquand – who has previously stepped in for Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull and James Spader’s Ultron – will voice Professor X in the series (replacing Cedric Smith).
The White Lotus season 2 and The Gentlemen star Theo James has also been cast in the series in an undisclosed role, said to be a “fan favourite”.
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What is X-Men ’97 about?
Marvel has unveiled the episode titles for X-Men ’97, with some fans drawing unconfirmed connections to popular stories from the comic books.
For example, episodes four and six feature the term ‘Lifedeath’, which is taken from a bumper-sized X-Men issue focused on the character of Storm, which finds the character de-powered and stumbling upon an unlikely romantic interest.
In two weeks, tune in to the two episode premiere of Marvel Animation’s #XMen97, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/oEyc7xKaAz
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) March 6, 2024
A more tenuous theory is that the three-part finale – titled Tolerance is Extinction – could be inspired in some way by Grant Morrison’s bold reinvention E for Extinction.
However, that arc began in 2001 in the comics, so it might not be eligible for inclusion in this distinctly ’90s-centric interpretation of the source material.
The official synopsis reads: “Marvel Animation’s X-Men’97 revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.”
X-Men ’97 trailer
Marvel dropped the trailer for X-Men ’97 in February – check it out below:
X-Men ’97 is available to stream on Disney Plus from Wednesday 20th March 2024. Sign up to Disney Plus for £1.99 a month (limited time only).
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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