Back before Marvel Studios dominated the world with the MCU and back before Fox launched the live-action “X-Men” film franchise in 2000, if you were a fan of superheroes, the best representation you could find was in your Saturday morning cartoons. That meant that ‘90s kids likely grew up watching “Spider-Man: The Animated Series,” “Batman: The Animated Series,” and of course, perhaps the best of them all (nostalgia-wise), “X-Men: The Animated Series.” Well, it appears Marvel knows that the ‘X-Men’ animated hole in your heart has remained empty for too long, and the ‘90s ‘X-Men’ cartoon is returning.
According to The Wrap (first reported by GWW), the ‘90s ‘X-Men’ cartoon is coming back to life in 2023. No, not a new iteration of ‘X-Men’ in animated form. We literally mean the ‘90s cartoon is getting a revival with new episodes, tentatively titled “X-Men ‘97,” coming in a couple of years to Disney+.
The report claims that the new “X-Men ‘97” series will feature the return of voice actors such as Cal Dodd, Lenore Zann, George Buza, Adrian Hough, Christopher Britton, Catherine Disher, Chris Potter, Alison Sealy-Smith, and Alyson Court. They’ll be joined by new actors such as Jennifer Hale, Anniwaa Buachie, Ray Chase, Matthew Waterson, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Jeff Bennett, and AJ LoCascio.
Known for its fairly shoddy animation but the excellent voice acting and incredibly accurate re-tellings of massive comic book storylines, the ‘90s ‘X-Men’ animated series is a landmark cartoon in the history of superhero animation. It also holds the title for having the single best superhero cartoon intro song of all time. Yes, I’d argue it’s better than the old ‘Spider-Man’ theme song that gets played constantly. The guitar riff is legendary in ‘X-Men.’
Not much is known about what stories will be told, but if you’re a fan of the ‘90s ‘X-Men’ cartoon and have been aching for your childhood to be revisited, you are in luck. And if you don’t have the nostalgia of that old show, then well…uh, you’re out of luck, I suppose.
“X-Men ‘97” is set to hit Disney+ in 2023. The original ‘X-Men’ animated series is on the streaming platform now.