It was announced at New York Comic Con on Saturday that “X-Men ’97” has been renewed for a third season. Season 2 is expected to be released in summer 2026.
A trailer shown in a room for Comic-Con attendees showed the return of the evil mutant Apocalypse and the X-Men characters scattered across time and space. After getting lost in the past and future, heroes like Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Jubilee, and Nightcrawler must find a way back to the 1990s.
Season 1 was released on Disney+ on March 20, 2024, and the 10-episode season concluded on May 15. Continuing the storyline from the 1990s fan-favorite “X-Men: The Animated Series,” the revival received positive reviews from critics and fans alike.
Disney+’s new series began at the same time that “X-Men: The Animated Series” ended in 1997. The super-powered X-Men are still hated and feared by many normal humans, and the team is reeling from the apparent death of their beloved Professor Charles Xavier. Magneto, the X-Men’s greatest enemy, takes control of the team due to Charles’ final will, but it soon becomes clear that the telepath is alive and well, living within the Shi’ar Empire. Charles eventually returns to Earth and helps the X-Men defeat Bastion, an all-powerful human-robot Sentinel hybrid, but the team is thrown back in time in the process.
The final moments of Season 1 reveal that Cyclops and Jean Gray are trapped in the future of 3960 AD. Rogue, Beast, Nightcrawler, Charles, and Magneto are stranded in ancient Egypt in 3000 BC, where they meet the young supervillain Apocalypse. There are also hints that Gambit, who sacrificed himself in the fight against the Sentinels, may still be alive. Plus, Magneto strips Wolverine of all the adamantium from his body in the penultimate episode, so there’s a lot to explore in Season 2.
Original screenwriter Beau DeMayo was fired from Marvel after finishing work on Season 2, just before the Season 1 premiere. Screenwriter Matthew Chauncey will write the third season. The voice cast includes Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Seeley-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, JP Kerriac as Morph, Lenore Zahn as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chow as Jubilee, and Isaac Robinson-Smith. Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, and Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler.
