When it comes to X-Men ‘97, ever episode feels like a movie. The show’s hand-drawn animation, epic action, and campy melodrama all combine to make each 30-minute installment feel as epic as your favorite Avengers movie. But imagine what the team between X-Men ‘97 could do with an animated X-Men movie...
That’s the question Inverse posed to X-Men ‘97 directors Chase Conley, Emi Yonemura, and Jake Castorena in a recent interview, and the answers have us hoping that Disney seriously considers the idea.
“To kind of do what Spider-Verse and the recent animated Turtles movie did.”
“First off, it would be a slam dunk,” ” Conley tells Inverse. “I think that would absolutely be something the audience would want to see, and we would want to be a part of.”
Conley adds that while the episodic format established by the original X-Men: The Animated series allows them to power through “a lot of adapted comic runs,” a movie-sized budget would give the team a chance to “do as much as we can and spend a lot of time massaging each shot.”
“With animation, the more time and money we get, the better it will be,” he says. “That's just a fact.”
X-Men ‘97 already has action and romance.
Emi Yonemura takes things once step further, arguing that an X-Men ‘97 movie could rival some of the best animated films in history.
“It feels like we're already making movie-level animation and events,” Yonemura says. “But just to have that budget and time then to make it a full feature, and to kind of do what Spider-Verse and the recent animated Turtles movie did...”
“Seven seasons and a movie.”
At this point, Yonemura trails off as we all took a second to imagine what an X-Men ‘97 movie in the vein of Spider-Verse might look like.
“One of our influences was ‘80s and ‘90s Japanese animation,” she eventually continues. “Akira. Ghost in the Shell. Those levels. It's like: Hey, you want to give us the money and budget to do that for you? But for X-Men ‘97? Gladly.”
Episode 3, “Fire Made Flesh,” was a great example of how much X-Men ‘97 is capable of even on the small screen.
Speaking of money, head director Jake Castorena confirms that the team would be more than happy to make a movie for one very obvious reason.
“Oh, I love job security,” Castorena says. “I think myself and the entire team would love to keep doing this. Seven seasons and a movie. Let's go!”
Ultimately, it’s up to to the studio to decide, but if X-Men ‘97 fans push for a feature film, Castorena thinks that might be enough to make it a reality.
“If the love and the demand is there from the fandom, and Marvel wants to let us do it, it'd be great to bring these X-Men, these characters, this style, and this work to the silver screen.”
X-Men ‘97 is streaming now on Disney+.
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