November 12 was Disney Plus day, and there were plenty of big announcements regarding new projects. These included new animated and live-action series, as well as upcoming Star Wars and Pixar projects. Of course, along with everything else came a huge announcement regarding the massive slate of upcoming Marvel projects. Among those that were already well-known likeShe-HulkandMoon Knightwas a big surprise for fans of 90s nostalgia: a continuation of the animated X-Men series, appropriately titledX-Men ‘97.
Disney Plus made the announcement on their Twitter feed highlighting all of their new projects, smartly utilizingthe meme where sad Wolverine, decked out in his classic yellow uniform, pines over a photo of Jean Grey. In this case, however, the image revealed the logo for the series, which remains unchanged except for the added ‘97. The image also revealed the 2023 release date, meaning there will still be a long wait.
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Disney did not release any further information regardingthe previously rumored series revival, but did provide a quick glimpse at the old gang of mutants in a Marvel Studios sizzle reel (that also included the first brief glimpses of Tatiana Maslany’s She-Hulk andOscar Isaac’s Moon Knight). As far as the designs go, not much has changed since the 90s. The old familiar team is all present: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Gambit, Beast, Storm, Jubilee, and Wolverine all there, decked out in their bright, colorful costumes. Curiously, Professor Xavier is absent from the shot, but he,along with Magnetoand his group of evil mutants, will likely be back as well.
Although fans have been waiting for Marvel Studios to give even the slightest indication thatmutants will soon be part of the broader MCU, this series announcement is still a huge milestone. It marks the first time that anything involving the X-Men has been branded with the Marvel Studios logo. It may not be a live-action film or series, but it’s certainly a promising sign for the future, as well as a fun throwback to a memorable (and surprisingly thorough) series that debuted nearly three decades ago.
The originalX-Men: The Animated Seriesaired on Fox Kids, and ran from 1992 to 1997 (likely the reason for the title, which may suggest that the new series is picking up right where the original left off). The show dove into many of the comic storylines and is still regarded asone of Marvel’s best animated series(not to mention its absolutely rad theme song). It’s currently unknown if any of the original voice actors would return to play their parts, but that would definitely turn up the nostalgia factor to 11.
