"X-Men '97 (Disney+)" Animated Series News & Discussion (Spoilers)

[JulianRO]

It looks pretty decent

 

[RoyalRubble]

Just to keep track of these, here are the Empire online articles so far-

X-Men ’97 sees Marvel’s mutants "faced with a future they didn’t expect". With a better look at the image leaked earlier (and without those numbers on the characters).

And an article with the trailer.

 

[Frontier]

Man, that intro with the final episode of the original series hits me in the feels .

(Also something is definitely up that the have Catherine Disher as Jean in the intro even though Jennifer Hale is voicing her in the series)

The animation definitely looks like it's trying for a stylized CG approach that blends 3D with old school 2D animation in the same vein as the original show. It looks kind of stiff outside action scenes a little .

Ray Chase does a surprisingly good job of emulating Norm Spencer. Cal Dodd sounds so different though...Lenore Zann hasn't missed a beat though !

I never even thought of that Wolverine and Gambit attack. Like if anything could withstand Gambit's power, it would be Wolverine's Adamantium Claws .

Looks like Magneto approaches the UN for leniency to make himself become more legitimate before taking over the Xavier school .

Pregnant Jean in that outfit .

 

[GRPHX]

Since I will be watching this with the voice acting in my native language, I have no thoughts about voice acting.But if they are considering a sequel for Spider-Man, I hope they don't use this artificial looking 3D style. It doesn't look as characterful as 2D. CG can imitate 2D to some extent.

 

[cheril59]

Has anyone noticed that the new clips have that cel-animated look? I mean, it's probably been given some effects to make it look like it was shot on 35mm film. Then again they probably wanted a '90s look.

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

Again i still really should catch up with the classic show before this new one comes out but I thought this was a solid new look. I really do have to call into question people who say this new show moves bad but are willing to give a pass to the rather limited animation of that last season of the original 90's show seen in the opening; like yeah there's a reason for it but you can tell how much of an upgrade this is just in the bits we got. And honestly with how the original series ended this being Cyclops properly leading the team without Xavier and seeing the new threats that come from it are going to be interesting so yeah looking forward to it.

 

[RoyalRubble]

EW article with some new info as well as additional casting news. (I think I copied all of them)

Cal Dodd (Wolverine/Logan), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm/Ororo Munroe), George Buza (Beast/Henry “Hank” McCoy), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner), and Chris Britton (Mister Sinister/Nathaniel Essex) are also returning to their roles they originated in X-Men: The Animated Series alongside Zann.

As for the other familiar characters, Ray Chase will now voice Cyclops/Scott Summers, Jennifer Hale will voice Jean Grey, AJ LoCascio will voice Gambit/Remy LeBeau, Holly Chou will voice Jubilee/Jubilation Lee, JP Karliak will voice Morph, Isaac Robinson-Smith will voice Bishop/Lucan Bishop, Matthew Waterson will voice Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr, Ross Marquand will voice Professor Charles Xavier, Giu Augustini will voice Sunspot/Roberto Da Costa, Gil Birmingham will voice Forge/Daniel Lone Eagle, and Eric Bauza is voicing the Sentinels.

Then there’s The White Lotus and Divergent star Theo James, whom DeMayo worked with on the 2021 Netflix animated film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. (James voiced lead character Vesemir, and DeMayo wrote the movie.) While details of James’ role are still a secret, DeMayo teases, “It is a fan-favorite character, I think, and it will surprise people.”

There's still a place for other veteran actors of X-Men: The Animated Series in the sequel. Catherine Disher, the original Jean Grey, is now voicing Dr. Valerie Cooper, who seems to be up to no good. Chris Potter, the original Gambit, is now playing Cable/Nathan Summers. Lawrence Bayne, the original Cable, is now playing Carl Dentil/X-Cutioner. Ron Rubin, the original Morph, is now playing President Robert Edward Kelly. Finally, Alyson Court, the original Jubilee, is now playing Abscissa.

 

[ShadowStar]

The designs are great, but the animation looks stiff (as has been the case with some superhero animated properties in recent years). Still, it's only a short trailer, so I think I'll just wait and see rather than form judgments right now!

The 2D vs. 3D debate continues to confuse me. Are people saying that this is 3D masquerading as 2D, as a cost-cutting measure?

 

[GRPHX]

Again i still really should catch up with the classic show before this new one comes out but I thought this was a solid new look. I really do have to call into question people who say this new show moves bad but are willing to give a pass to the rather limited animation of that last season of the original 90's show seen in the opening; like yeah there's a reason for it but you can tell how much of an upgrade this is just in the bits we got. And honestly with how the original series ended this being Cyclops properly leading the team without Xavier and seeing the new threats that come from it are going to be interesting so yeah looking forward to it.

I for one am not complaining about my old friend cel animation insofar as the art style is excellent, but the fact that the old show needs a good HD or UHD Remaster is a more serious issue than that.

 

[wonderfly]

From the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"X-Men 97 Is Finally Here: Trailer And Premiere Date"​

"Previously….on X-MEN!

For those who weren’t there, it’s hard to underestimate how big a deal the X-Men cartoon was when it premiered on Fox in 1992. Up to that point cartoon shows based on comic books were watered down, drastically altered and nothing like their printed inspiration at all. The original X-Men cartoon was the first to directly adapt stories and events from the book it came from, and it won massive success due to that.

Nowadays, adaptions of comic book material are as plentiful as water, but quality vs. quantity is still a phenomenon. Multiple Hollywood adaptions of the Dark Phoenix Saga now exist, but none have had the sheer epic scale or emotional OOMPH that the five-part adaption on the X-Men cartoon pulled off, and that show had to do it with the trademark wobbly cheaply-outsourced animation it’s famous for."

Read the full article here.

 

[bigdaddy313]

Hello, hello, hello everyone it has been a long time posting to you guys and I missed this place a lot.
I am very happy with what I am seeing, it looks amazing and I can’t wait till March which is next month, very exciting indeed.
Jean Grey pregnant, you know what that means, either Cable or Nate Grey.

Wolverine’s voice sounds strange but I guess that’s ok.

Magneto looks cool and taking Xavier’s place even with Cyclops being in charge of the X-Men, is going to create a lot of chaos in the team.

The show looks very detailed so it will be a little stiff but very well animated and d action scenes look very nice.

It’s nice seeing what I grew up with and what made me love Comics and every medium it is in, can’t wait.

 

[Fone Bone]

I liked the trailer. The animation was better than the old show.

 

[Checkerboard]

This looks great!

 

[Yojimbo]

Studio Mir confirmed they did the animation for the show.

 

[Daikun]

I liked the trailer. The animation was better than the old show.

Well, there has been 30 years of technical advancement...

 

[Fone Bone]

Well, there has been 30 years of technical advancement...

My opinion was in response to folks in the thread complaining about the animation.

 

[RoyalRubble]

A few more comments on the trailer...

- "Daily Bugle" has nods to Hellfire Gala, Spider-Man/Pater Parker and... Eddie Block? A typo, most likely.

- At 1:06, if that's Morph, I am guessing they will switch between looks throughout the show.

- Pregnant Jean Grey (if that is indeed Jean... Madelyne Pryor should also appear here). This reminds me the 90s Fantastic Four cartoon wanted to do Sue Storm's pregnancy arc in their third season that never happened.

- Cyclops' "My X-Men" comment might be there to annoy Magneto, I mean between the two I think even Wolverine would agree to Scott as team leader.

 

[Yojimbo]

What got me was Gambit charging up Wolverine's claws and perhaps the implication we're gonna see a take on the Fastball Special.

 

[Frontier]

EW article with some new info as well as additional casting news. (I think I copied all of them)

Cal Dodd (Wolverine/Logan), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm/Ororo Munroe), George Buza (Beast/Henry “Hank” McCoy), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler/Kurt Wagner), and Chris Britton (Mister Sinister/Nathaniel Essex) are also returning to their roles they originated in X-Men: The Animated Series alongside Zann.

As for the other familiar characters, Ray Chase will now voice Cyclops/Scott Summers, Jennifer Hale will voice Jean Grey, AJ LoCascio will voice Gambit/Remy LeBeau, Holly Chou will voice Jubilee/Jubilation Lee, JP Karliak will voice Morph, Isaac Robinson-Smith will voice Bishop/Lucan Bishop, Matthew Waterson will voice Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr, Ross Marquand will voice Professor Charles Xavier, Giu Augustini will voice Sunspot/Roberto Da Costa, Gil Birmingham will voice Forge/Daniel Lone Eagle, and Eric Bauza is voicing the Sentinels.

Then there’s The White Lotus and Divergent star Theo James, whom DeMayo worked with on the 2021 Netflix animated film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf. (James voiced lead character Vesemir, and DeMayo wrote the movie.) While details of James’ role are still a secret, DeMayo teases, “It is a fan-favorite character, I think, and it will surprise people.”

There's still a place for other veteran actors of X-Men: The Animated Series in the sequel. Catherine Disher, the original Jean Grey, is now voicing Dr. Valerie Cooper, who seems to be up to no good. Chris Potter, the original Gambit, is now playing Cable/Nathan Summers. Lawrence Bayne, the original Cable, is now playing Carl Dentil/X-Cutioner. Ron Rubin, the original Morph, is now playing President Robert Edward Kelly. Finally, Alyson Court, the original Jubilee, is now playing Abscissa.

I wonder why they have some of the original cast playing different characters instead of their original roles ?

Alyson Court as Abscissa makes so much sense if you know who Abscissa is in the comics.

What got me was Gambit charging up Wolverine's claws and perhaps the implication we're gonna see a take on the Fastball Special.

Best compromise because Colossus never gets to be on the main team .

 

[RoyalRubble]

Yeah, I like the sound of Alyson Court as Abscissa more than the rumors of her voicing Shadowcat (though it would be nice to have her on the show, too).

Any guesses which "fan-favorite" character Theo James might voice later on?