Kevin Feige’s Two Demands for ‘X-Men ’97’ Greenlight: Original Cast and Theme Song Return

Marvel’s ‘X-Men ’97‘ will be available for streaming on Disney+ starting March 20th.

The show is a revival/sequel to the iconic “X-Men: The Animated Series,” which aired for 5 seasons on Fox Kids from 1992-1997. According to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, he had two conditions before greenlighting ‘X-Men ’97’: the original cast had to return, and the original theme song had to be included.

Image Source: Marvel Animation

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios’ head of streaming Brad Winderbaum revealed that the success of the animated What If…? show has opened up opportunities for more animated projects. Feige stated, “If we can get the original cast and we can get the song of ‘X-Men,’ we can make it.”

Winderbaum said, “Following the success of What If…?, when we were able to make more animated shows, [X-Men ’97] was my first idea out of the box. And Kevin [Feige] was like, ‘Alright, if we can get the [original] cast and we can get the song, let’s do it.’ And fortunately, we were able to do that.”

Marvel recently terminated Beau DeMayo, the showrunner for the upcoming ‘X-Men ’97’ series.

According to reports, the second season of ‘X-Men ’97’ is in development. DeMayo had reportedly finished writing Season 2 and was in discussions for ideas regarding Season 3 before his termination.

Winderbaum said, “He did excellent work writing Seasons 1 and 2, and I can’t wait for fans to see the series. The entire team came together to create a revival worthy of the X-Men’s 60-year legacy. From Stan and Jack, to Claremont, to the Lewalds, we all truly were standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Created by DeMayo and directed by Jake Castorena and Chase Conley. The Newton Brothers will compose the score for the series. At San Diego Comic-Con 2023, during the ‘Designing the X-Men’ panel, Marvel Studios showed an exclusive clip of ‘X-Men ’97.’ The clip revealed Master Mold, a pregnant Jean Grey, Archangel, and Bishop as official members of the team, with Cyclops uttering the classic “To me, my X-Men” line. The plot follows Storm and Wolverine as they try to continue the X-Men. Magneto comes in and wants to step up for Charles Xavier. Sinister comes in to try to end the X-Men once and for all.