Marvel Studios is handing the X-Men the keys to the kingdom in 2026. At the end of the year, the mutant team will appear alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Doomsday. But before the fight for the multiverse begins on the big screen, the X-Men have a score to settle on the small one. X-Men '97 returns for Season 2 in July, and the buzz around the series couldn't be more positive.
In addition to unleashing Apocalypse in three different timelines, the show will also introduce plenty of new characters and flesh out established ones. However, X-Men '97's sophomore outing will face a more difficult task than its successful predecessor, as it will consist of 9 episodes rather than 10.
Marvel Studios confirmed the reduction at the same time that it dropped the first trailer for the second season to soften the blow. After all, who cares about losing 20-30 minutes of content when there are new edits to make of Wolverine and Cyclops in action? And it's not like the fanbase was totally blindsided, since former showrunner Beau DeMayo leaked the development back in 2024.
While responding to a fan on X, DeMayo explained that the scripts he worked on before his firing were being scrapped, including his "Onslaught/AoA finale."
"Season 2 is also only 9 episodes because of this and them canning my Onslaught/AoA finale. But Marvel loves shooting themselves in the foot, especially with certain directors and execs pushing their backwards “we know better than the comics” agenda."
It's important to keep in mind, though, that cutting an episode here and there has been a common practice for Marvel Studios. Even some of the company's highest-rated shows have gotten a trim.
Disney+'s Marvel Studios Shows That Have Had Lost Episodes
WandaVision
Wanda Maximoff had the honor of leading Marvel Studios' first Disney+ series, WandaVision. Originally, the show was going to have ten episodes to explore the character's transformation into the Scarlet Witch.
WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer revealed that "logistical, budget, and creative reasons" forced the production to condense a two-episode finale into a single one. And the finish line was still reached, with Scarlet Witch freeing the people of Westview and getting her hands on the Darkhold.
Loki
Marvel Studios followed up Loki Season 1 with an equally impressive second season. With He Who Remains out of the picture, the God of Mischief spent the sophomore outing trying to hold the multiverse together while also getting a grip on his time-slipping. In Episode 5, "Science/Fiction," Loki finally put the pieces in place and gave himself a real shot at saving everyone.
Head writer Eric Martin let it slip in an interview with Script that the original concept for Episode 5 was very different, even saying that it would have been "one of the stranger things that the MCU had ever done." Sadly, Martin didn't go into detail about the original episode's story, leaving it as one of the multiverse's greatest mysteries.
What If...?
Speaking of the multiverse, it should come as no surprise that an anthology series like What If...? finds its way on this list. AC Bradley and her writing team tossed around many wild ideas while working on the three-season show, many of which made it on Disney+, including "What If... Howard the Duck Got Hitched?" and "What If... The Avengers Assembled in 1602?"
But not every concept got the green light. Bradley had to scrap an episode about the Guardians of the Galaxy because it was too similar to the final movie in James Gunn's movie trilogy (via DigitalSpy). There was also a "dark" episode featuring Spider-Man that never saw the light of day (via TVLine).
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law
Outside of focusing on a female lead, WandaVision and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law have another thing in common. Like WandaVision, the Tatiana Maslany-led series came out of the gates with a ten-episode order. As production progressed, though, things changed.
Director Kat Coiro exclusively revealed to The Direct that She-Hulk's story "dictated the length of the season." So, despite telling the world it would take 10 episodes to wrap up Jennifer Walters' first solo outing, Marvel Studios found a way to pull it off in nine.
Daredevil: Born Again
Famously, Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 underwent a massive creative overhaul during filming, with a new showrunner being brought in to right the ship. But there was also plenty of debate before cameras started rolling.
Writer Jesse Wigutow told IGN that the show nearly featured a bottle episode that put Punisher and Echo together for what she described as an "interesting night." Wigutow made sure to say that romantic sparks wouldn't have been flying between the two, though, which probably meant it would've been actual ones.
Echo
Alaqua Cox's hero has found herself on the wrong end of cuts more than once. Her Disney+ miniseries, aptly titled Echo, sent Maya Lopez back to her home in Oklahoma, away from the mess she left behind in New York. However, her problems followed her, forcing her to make some tough choices.
Despite the series originally being tapped for six episodes, the final number was five (via ComicBookMovie). It's unclear what story beats ended up on the cutting room floor, but Marvel Studios clearly didn't have much faith in the show. After all, it dropped the entire series in one day rather than dropping episodes weekly, which had been the standard up to that point.
