One of the biggest surprises to come out of Disney Plus Day was ironically a rumor that had been gaining some serious traction in the days leading up to the event, albeit one that was viewed with a skeptical eye by most.
After any previous talks appeared to have stalled, speculation that a revival of X-Men: The Animated Series was really on the cards this time gathered serious traction, leading to the announcement that Disney Plus were indeed bringing back the beloved series, with X-Men ’97 set to pick up where the original left off.
Although it isn’t expected to be part of official Marvel Cinematic Universe canon, What If…? producer and the studio’s Head of Streaming, Television and Animation Brad Winderbaum is on board the project, and he teased what’s to come during an appearance on the This Week in Marvel podcast.
“He pitched us a show that didn’t just honor the original series, but also brought it into the modern world and talked not only about the 90s, but about the emotional shift that happened at the beginning of the new millennium, and how the show is actually going to explore that and see how the characters change, you know, after a very impactful event. And he talked about the soap opera of it all and was really compelling to us, but also the true emotional stakes to these characters.”
We can expect a solid blend of nostalgia and new stories, which is more than enough to sell X-Men ’97 to the masses, especially if it retains the awesome theme tune and signature animated style. Sometimes dreams do come true, and the buzz was strong heading into, and ultimately coming out of, Disney Plus Day as the mutants gear up for their long-awaited 2D comeback.