X-Men ’97 will pick up from X-Men: The Animated Series' cliffhanger ending, and will reportedly consist of 10 episodes, premiering in mid-2023.
During an interview with Justin Underwood on YouTube, original X-Men: The Animated Series showrunners Eric and Julia Lewald (who are consulting on the new show) lifted the lid on the upcoming revival.
“They want this show to pick up where the original X-Men series wrapped,” said Julia Lewald. The original show ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger.
After Charles Xavier was gravely injured by Henry Peter Gyrich, it looked as though the classic X-Men mentor might not make it. Thankfully, Empress Lilandra arrived to take the wounded Professor X into space to be cured by the Shi’Ar Empire.
X-Men ’97 will “build off of that” according to original showrunner Eric Lewald, who emphasized that the new show will continue the X-Men story fans were left with.
X-Men ’97 was announced last year during Disney+ Day, with the streamer reviving the much-loved original X-Men show. Although details have been scarce since, it looks as though we now know when it will debut.
“I believe they’re looking at ten episodes for the first season that's going to come out mid-next year,” said Eric Lewald. “They're starting it soon after ours ended... ‘Where is [Charles Xavier] and what are we going to do with him?’”
“They want it to be an extension,” he continued. “Whoever it is doing this new show is going to make it their own. No matter who is involved. There is great love and affection and respect from an entire group of people that are doing this show, starting at the top with Beau DeMayo, who's the showrunner.”
X-Men ’97 will aim to recreate the style of the original ‘90s Saturday morning cartoon, with many of the show’s original voice actors returning to reprise their roles.
“They could have just said, ‘We’re just going to do a new show’,” he explained. “We have friends that were part of other very successful shows, and when they get rebooted, not a phone call, not a card, not a bit of recognition, just, ‘Oh, we're going to do the new whatever.’”
But in this case, it looks as though Disney was keen to pay respect to the original series. “We said, ‘It's your show. We're here if there's a red flag,’” he said. “But we're on for that, or for maybe some ideas of things we'd like to see. But really, it's their show. You can tell by the design. It's the same design but slightly modernized, slightly more beautiful, five times the money spent on it. Not that we're bitter!”
“These are real superfans, really respectful superfans of the show, extending the show into new places,” he added. “We couldn't have asked for a better setup than that.”
X-Men '97 will see Cal Dodd return as Wolverine, alongside Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Chris Potter as Gambit, Catherine Disher as Jean Grey, Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler, and Christopher Britton as Minister Sinister.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Continue reading...
During an interview with Justin Underwood on YouTube, original X-Men: The Animated Series showrunners Eric and Julia Lewald (who are consulting on the new show) lifted the lid on the upcoming revival.
“They want this show to pick up where the original X-Men series wrapped,” said Julia Lewald. The original show ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger.
After Charles Xavier was gravely injured by Henry Peter Gyrich, it looked as though the classic X-Men mentor might not make it. Thankfully, Empress Lilandra arrived to take the wounded Professor X into space to be cured by the Shi’Ar Empire.
X-Men ’97 will “build off of that” according to original showrunner Eric Lewald, who emphasized that the new show will continue the X-Men story fans were left with.
X-Men ’97 was announced last year during Disney+ Day, with the streamer reviving the much-loved original X-Men show. Although details have been scarce since, it looks as though we now know when it will debut.
“I believe they’re looking at ten episodes for the first season that's going to come out mid-next year,” said Eric Lewald. “They're starting it soon after ours ended... ‘Where is [Charles Xavier] and what are we going to do with him?’”
“They want it to be an extension,” he continued. “Whoever it is doing this new show is going to make it their own. No matter who is involved. There is great love and affection and respect from an entire group of people that are doing this show, starting at the top with Beau DeMayo, who's the showrunner.”
X-Men ’97 will aim to recreate the style of the original ‘90s Saturday morning cartoon, with many of the show’s original voice actors returning to reprise their roles.
“They could have just said, ‘We’re just going to do a new show’,” he explained. “We have friends that were part of other very successful shows, and when they get rebooted, not a phone call, not a card, not a bit of recognition, just, ‘Oh, we're going to do the new whatever.’”
But in this case, it looks as though Disney was keen to pay respect to the original series. “We said, ‘It's your show. We're here if there's a red flag,’” he said. “But we're on for that, or for maybe some ideas of things we'd like to see. But really, it's their show. You can tell by the design. It's the same design but slightly modernized, slightly more beautiful, five times the money spent on it. Not that we're bitter!”
“These are real superfans, really respectful superfans of the show, extending the show into new places,” he added. “We couldn't have asked for a better setup than that.”
X-Men '97 will see Cal Dodd return as Wolverine, alongside Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Chris Potter as Gambit, Catherine Disher as Jean Grey, Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler, and Christopher Britton as Minister Sinister.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
Continue reading...