True Believers all over the world have been proclaiming, “To me, my X-Men!” That’s because fans around the world are clamoring for “X-Men ’97" season 2.
Following an epic first season of the acclaimed Disney Plus animated series, the audience can’t wait to find out what happens next, especially after the events of the exciting three-part finale.
A second season was ordered early on in the development of “X-Men ’97” and a third season has been discussed as well. However, fans will likely have to wait awhile for "X-Men '97" season 2. After all, the show has undergone some serious behind-the-scenes shake-ups. Despite all the uncertainty, head of Marvel Animation Brad Winderbaum, “X-Men ’97” supervising producer and head director Jake Castorena, and other executives continue to tell the press that the wheels are in motion for the next chapters to come together. Here's everything we know about "X-Men '97" season 2.
'X-Men '97' season 2 release date
Currently, Disney Plus has not announced a release date for “X-Men ‘97" season 2. However, whenever the House of Ideas and the House of Mouse determine that the next chapter is ready, it will debut on the company’s streaming service Disney Plus alongside other Marvel shows such as “Ms. Marvel,” “What If?,” and “Loki.”
'X-Men '97' season 2 cast
“X-Men ’97” features a rather large ensemble of talent. Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, Lenore Zann, George Buza, and Adrian Hough return from the original series to reprise their iconic roles of Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Beast, and Nightcrawler. Jennifer Hale takes up the mantle of Jean Grey (as well as Madelyne Pryor/The Goblin Queen) after voicing the character in “Wolverine and the X-Men.”
And to round out the primary roster of the team, the veteran performers are joined by Ray Chase as Cyclops, J.P. Karliak as Morph, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, and Ross Marquand as Professor X.
Additionally, A.J. LoCascio provided the voice for fan-favorite character Gambit until the end of the the first season’s fifth episode (and presumably in the future). The character’s original voice actor Chris Potter still appears in the show, but this time he plays the time-traveling son of Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor known as Cable.
And though they had varying degrees of involvement in season one, Isaac Robinson-Smith’s Bishop and Gil Birmingham’s Forge will likely have expanded roles in season two as they are tasked with recruiting a whole new team of X-Men. The same goes for Marquand and Adetokumboh M’Cormack, who respectively provide the voices for the younger and older versions of iconic X-Men villain En Sabah Nur (aka Apocalypse) in the closing moments of the season finale.
'X-Men '97' season 2 plot and season 1 ending, explained
From 1992 to 1997, “X-Men: The Animated Series” adapted a number of landmark Marvel Comics storylines. “X-Men ’97” followed suit as DeMayo and his team tackled “Operation: Zero Tolerance,” “Inferno,” “E is for Extinction,” “Lifedeath,” and others in the first season of this first major foray into the X-Men under the Marvel Studios banner.
As a result, we saw the fall of the mutant nation Genosha, the rise of Bastion and major changes for many beloved characters. For example, Magneto violently ripped the adamantium from Wolverine’s bones on Asteroid M. In retaliation and in an effort to stop the Master of Magnetism from causing an extinction-level event, Charles Xavier entered his friend’s mind without consent and forced Magneto to stand down. Unfortunately, this may have caused some long-term damage to the radical mutant leader.
However, one of the most tragic moments of the entire season was the death of Remi LeBeau AKA Gambit. With the multiverse and time travel in play, many (including his beloved Rogue) thought that there could be some way to bring the lovable thief back to the team. Well, it appears that we are getting what we wanted. Unfortunately, it’s most definitely not in the way we want.
Based on episode 10's mid-credits scene, we see that Apocalypse has stumbled upon one of Gambit’s signature playing cards. The power-hungry villain says, “So much pain, my children. So much death.” But he adds extra emphasis on that final word, which seems to indicate that the “X-Men ’97” variant of Gambit will follow in his comic book counterpart’s footsteps by becoming one of Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen (specifically Death).
As for the other three fearsome henchmen, the possibilities are endless. Angel, Wolverine, Professor X, Psylocke, Storm, Banshee, Polaris, and Colossus are just a few Marvel characters that have filled those roles previously. It’ll be interesting to see who gets recruited for this iteration of the tale.
As for the rest of the X-Men, while some are still presumed dead six months after Bastion’s defeat, Bishop learns that they’re mostly scattered throughout time and space. Cyclops and Jean have somehow ended up in the same future where “their” son Nathan/Cable grew up. Rogue, Nightcrawler, Beast, Xavier, and Magneto find themselves in Ancient Egypt as they come face to face with an En Sabah Nur that has yet to become Apocalypse. And now Bishop and Forge have to build a new team to try to save everyone.
Could this mean the formation of other teams in this universe such as X-Force, The New Mutants, Generation X or X-Factor? Current evidence points to yes, but we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see which one Bishop and Force assemble to save their fellow X-Men.
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