During November 2021's Disney+ Day, one key Marvel project announcement took many fans by surprise: Marvel Studios is set to revive the animated X-Men show from the '90s. Not only would the show come back, but Kevin Feige's studio brand would be attached to the project. This left a massive question at the forefront of everyone’s minds: will this upcoming revival be set within the canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
A similar question arose when Marvel Studios announced its first animated show, What If…?. In that case, the project ended up being canon—in a Multiversal kind of way. So what’s the deal with this unique revival situation?
The world still doesn’t know. However, people have been even more hopeful for an answer due to the fact that it has been the first project under Marvel Studios' umbrella to feature the X-Men.
Ahead of the upcoming Disney+ animated revival, X-Men ‘97, The Direct had the opportunity to tackle this outstanding issue with one of the show's leading crew members.
Will X-Men ‘97 Be Canon to the MCU?
In an exclusive interview, The Direct's Russ Milheim got to sit down with Beau DeMayo, the head writer and an executive producer of the upcoming X-Men '97 animated Marvel Studios project, to discuss the big question on every fan's mind: will this revival be canon to the MCU?
DeMayo couldn't say much, but he did reveal that "the surprise will be finding that out when you experience the show:"
“The one thing I can say towards that is, I know sometimes we say, No comment,' and it’s like, ‘They’re just being obstinate.’ I’m gonna go with no comment here because part of the surprise will be finding that out when you experience the show."
So does that mean that particular question will be an active mystery for audiences as they watch the show when it releases? The writer only had a brief answer to give:
“I can’t speak to marketing, but I think there is a degree of—you will be asking that question.”
X-Men '97's Uncertain Place In Marvel's Plan
With how DeMayo noted that the much-asked question would play into the experience, one has to wonder if the Multiverse will play a big role in the revival. After all, the concept is the current hook of Marvel’s Phase 4 slate of projects.
On top of that, using alternate realities sure seems like the easiest way to bring Mutants over into the MCU. It's still unclear if fans would have expected the same Variants from the old animated show to be the ones coming over, however.
While some might be disappointed to still not have a clear answer, it’s not surprising that they want to keep it vague for now. It is the Marvel Studios way going back more than a decade.
Though, it is worth noting how everything they’ve put their logo on has been canon—something which has remained true since 2008. Will this project finally break that streak?
X-Men ‘97 is rumored to be looking at a mid-2023 release window and is said to have ten episodes in its first season.
