Marvel Studios keeps advancing its plans for X-Men ’97 while a separate live-action X-Men movie moves forward at the studio. The animated series brought the mutants back to Marvel for the first time since the 1990s, picking up the story of the classic cartoon X-Men: The Animated Series. Its second season launches on Disney+ on July 1, and more episodes are already in production. With the big-screen reboot also on the way, fans keep asking one obvious question: Can both versions of the team exist at the same time?
Brad Winderbaum, the head of Marvel Television and Animation, addressed this during a recent panel for the show’s second season at the Tribeca Film Festival. He confirmed that X-Men ’97 will keep going even after the live-action X-Men movie reaches theaters, telling ScreenRant that "the two things can definitely run simultaneously":
"Yeah, I think the two things can definitely run simultaneously. Look how many Spider-Man things there are. There’s 'Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,' the 'Spider-Verse' movies, the live-action movies, the preschool show. X-Men could definitely do the same thing. I’m not sure it has a preschool show, but certainly 'X-Men ’97' can run simultaneously with live-action."
X-Men ’97 arrived on Disney+ in 2024 as the first X-Men project from Marvel Studios since the company won back the film and television rights through Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox. The series continues right where X-Men: The Animated Series ended, following Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, and the rest of the team after the loss of their mentor, Professor Charles Xavier. Strong reviews and a loud fan response turned it into one of Marvel’s most praised recent projects, and the studio renewed it through a third season before greenlighting a fourth.
The live-action reboot is a separate effort with its own creative team. Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier will direct the film, working from a script by Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige described the project as a youth-focused take on the mutants, though no cast or release date exists yet. The movie is not expected until after the next two Avengers films, which keeps the cartoon as the main home for the X-Men in the near term.
X-Men ‘97 and the Live-Action Reboot Running Simultaneously Is a Big Win for Marvel Fans
For years, X-Men fans made do with very little. After Fox closed out its run with Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, the mutants mostly surfaced as guest stars, like Patrick Stewart’s Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. X-Men ’97 broke that drought in 2024 by handing the full team its own ongoing story again. Winderbaum’s plan rewards the patience of X-Men fans as they will no longer have to pick between the cartoon and the movie. Both projects can grow side by side.
The two projects also promise very different experiences. X-Men ’97 keeps the continuity and many of the original voice actors from the show that hooked viewers in the ’90s, along with its serialized, soap-opera style. The live-action reboot, on the other hand, starts fresh with a younger cast and likely a very different tone.
The uniqueness of both projects will enhance the X-Men experience, allowing fans to enjoy two different mutant flavors. This is similar to how Spider-Man fans get to experience different iterations of the character's universe at the same time.
This dynamic will also spark healthy, creative competition. X-Men '97 is immensely popular and has set a high bar for Marvel Studios' mutant projects. The live-action film will need to meet or exceed that standard, giving Marvel extra motivation to deliver the best possible cinematic X-Men experience.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
