“X-Men '97” exclusive look reveals legacy costumes, Theo James as a mystery 'fan favorite'

EW exclusively confirms the cast of the sequel to "X-Men: The Animated Series" and speaks with showrunner Beau DeMayo and Rogue star Lenore Zann about what to expect.

The X-Men have returned.

More than 30 years have passed since X-Men: The Animated Series hit the airwaves and turned Marvel's mutants into household names. Now in 2024, at a time when all those Saturday morning cartoon kids are grown up, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Jean, and more are coming back to TV to remind everyone why they are the GOAT.

Marvel Studios has released the highly anticipated first teaser trailer for X-Men '97, a direct sequel to X-Men: The Animated Series that will premiere on Disney+ this March 20. In addition, EW can exclusively unveil a sneak peek at the core gang back in their classic legacy costumes, which showrunner Beau DeMayo tells EW will serve a specific purpose in season 1.

"Every design choice is actually a clue to the storylines we're doing," DeMayo says. "Nothing is arbitrary." The clue from the legacy costumes is all about nostalgia. "It's a nice nod to Pryde of the X-Men,” he explains, referring to the 1989 pilot for a failed X-Men animated series. “But it is to throw the X-Men back to a time where they're thinking about: What part of this do I want to keep? Was it truly simpler back then, or were we just more naive?”

X-Men '97 picks up after the events of X-Men: The Animated Series’ finale, 1997’s “Graduation Day,” which saw a gravely injured Charles Xavier leave his team of mutants behind to recover in outer space in the care of Lilandra among the Shi'ar Empire. "Some fans said that when the show ended the last time 30 years ago, they felt like it was cut short," says Lenore Zann, who's returning to voice Rogue in the new series. "Well, finally, you're getting that 'more.' You'll be able to find out what happened next."

While Xavier believes in a world in which humans and mutants can coexist, Magneto, the X-Men’s longtime adversary, is now the new leader of the superhero team. “It’s always interesting to take Xavier’s dream and turn it on its head,” DeMayo says. “When I first came to this, I was thinking about what the world of the '90s was like, even issues of social acceptance and what does it mean to be different? It was so much more simplistic than it is today. [The X-Men] spent years telling humanity to embrace the future, walk into the future together. What happens when they get hit with a future they didn't see coming? What does it feel like to be on the other end when you feel like that future is leaving you behind?”

EW can also exclusively confirm the cast of veteran and newcomer actors joining the sequel series.

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.

"Rogue is still Rogue and has the same issues," Zann teases of the mutant whose power-absorbing ability makes her incapable of physically touching another person. "A lot of folks can relate to that, to her wanting to be loved, wanting to belong, wanting to be touched, and not being accepted for who they are. There's a lot of LGBTQ folks who tell me that they really can relate to her because of the same reasons. Rogue really embodies that because she always seems to be struggling with accepting herself for who she is, warts and all."

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, Gui 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.

There are many reasons behind the recastings, DeMayo explains, that range from more authentic representation (Court recognizes that voicing an Asian character like Jubilee as a Canadian actress in the '90s was a product of its time) to vocal intonations. He uses the Cable-Cyclops relationship as an example: Cable is the time-displaced son of Cyclops from a future timeline and "has a huge arc" in X-Men '97, DeMayo confirms. "It was really [about] how do we make sure that the audience knows that this is a weird relationship where the father is younger than the son and making sure the vocal qualities tell that story when they're talking to each other."

There were also more symbolic reasonings, as with Jean Grey. DeMayo wanted the actress behind his favorite X-Men character to deliver the thesis of X-Men '97 as Valerie Cooper.

"Jean Grey is the epitome of empathy," DeMayo says. "She is the one person who truly understands the sacrifice that is necessary to be an X-Man." (See the Phoenix Saga from the original series.) "Val has a very interesting arc in our first season, I will say. I remember when I first met with Catherine. I was like, 'You'll be delivering the thesis of the series in this one particular episode, and we are going to be building it very carefully through these episodes.' To me, she was such the heart of the original series, to have her deliver the thesis felt right to me."

What is that thesis? DeMayo remains tight-lipped, but he continues to muse on the idea of empathy: "The key thing I came to with this series was how, ultimately, you can take all the philosophy of Xavier's dream, but if you just boil it down, empathy is the way into the future."

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