X-Men '97

X-Men '97 is an animated television series made by Marvel Studios Animation for Disney+. It continues X-Men: The Animated Series, the Fox Kids program that aired from 1992 to 1997. The new series opens after Charles Xavier is gravely injured during an assassination attempt and departs Earth with Lilandra and the Shi'ar for medical care. His absence leaves the X-Men without their founder and makes Xavier's dream of human-mutant coexistence harder to defend. Rather than inventing a separate rebooted continuity, it revisits familiar characters, relationships, and unresolved ideas from the earlier show. This choice shapes its political, emotional arc throughout. Season one places Magneto in an especially consequential role. Xavier's final will names his longtime adversary as leader of the X-Men, forcing Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey, Rogue, Beast, Jubilee, Gambit, and Wolverine to decide whether they can follow him. Magneto is not simply a replacement mentor: the series tests his commitment to restraint while portraying the anger produced by persecution. The season also adapts elements associated with major X-Men comics stories, including “Fatal Attractions,” “Lifedeath,” and “Tolerance Is Extinction,” while arranging them in its own television narrative. The three-part finale centers on Bastion and a worldwide anti-mutant crisis campaign. The show's creative team deliberately brought back many performers from the 1990s cast. Cal Dodd again voices Wolverine, Lenore Zann returns as Rogue, George Buza plays Beast, Alison Sealy-Smith reprises Storm, and Ray Chase takes over Cyclops. Jennifer Hale voices Jean Grey, A.J. LoCascio plays Gambit, Holly Chou voices Jubilee, and Matthew Waterson voices Magneto. Beau DeMayo served as head writer for the first season; he was dismissed by Marvel before its premiere. Jake Castorena and Chase Conley directed episodes, with Emi Yonemura also directing. The music incorporates themes associated with the original animated series in new arrangements and cues. X-Men '97 premiered on Disney+ on March 20, 2024, with its first season consisting of ten episodes. The release restored the franchise to weekly episodic conversation and ended with “Tolerance Is Extinction — Part 3,” an episode that scatters characters across different times and places after Asteroid M is destroyed. Professor X returns to Earth during the finale, but the team is not reunited: Cyclops and Jean are sent to the future, while Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Magneto, and Xavier reach ancient Egypt. A second season has been announced. The finale also reveals Apocalypse observing the aftermath from a distant scene silently.