Marvel Studios released the action-packed, epic first trailer for X-Men '97 Season 2 earlier today, and it's now been confirmed that work is already underway on a fourth batch of episodes.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Larry Houston, who directed episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series, confirmed that Marvel Animation is committed to at least four seasons of the revival. He also promised a shorter wait for Season 3 after Season 2 premieres in July.
That will come as a relief to fans who have faced a wait of over two years for this story to continue after Season 1 of X-Men '97 wrapped up on Disney+ way back in May 2024.
"They want everyone to know it's only gonna be a year now between seasons, not two-and-a-quarter years," he confirmed. "It's gonna be a year until the next one and a year until the next one [after that]. They are on schedule now."
"One of the reasons they're on schedule is we've gone over, given notes on, responded to not only all the scripts for season 3, all the animatics for season 3, we are in season 4 giving script notes," Houston added. "So that's how deep they are into the development."
Eric and Julia Lewald, the creative driving force behind the original series, have been upped from consulting producers to executive producers on X-Men '97 Season 2. Talking to the site, Eric dropped some hints about what fans can expect from Apocalypse across multiple timelines in the show.
"He's still trying to figure out who he is," he teased. "You're not even sure if he's a bad guy. This is going to [be an] Apocalypse in middle school and see[ing] what it was that was going on in his head as he started to sense who he was."
Houston added, "Ancient Egypt Apocalypse gives us this massively powerful mutant backstory. No one is born evil, but we see how circumstances led him to become the villainous Apocalypse. Present-day Apocalypse is constantly trying to cull the herd of the weak so that only the strong survive. Future Apocalypse is how his vision becomes reality, perhaps."
Season 1's post-credits scene set the stage for Gambit to be resurrected as one of Apocalypse's Horsemen, Death. Pushed on whether that's the direction things are heading in, Eric mused, "If you were a betting man, I would say, follow the breadcrumbs."
Finally, when it comes to Polaris' debut in X-Men '97, Houston shared, "Polaris is as powerful as the mutant Magneto, and she not only has a substantial role in Season 2 but she has a pivotal character arc that affects both mutant teams X-Men and X-Force."
X-Men '97 Season 2 continues with the heroic mutant team of X-Men, divided and thrown across different eras in time as they struggle to navigate their return home. Meanwhile, back in the 1990s, suspicious foes and new strains of mutant intolerance are on the rise in the wake of the X-Men’s absence.
The second season of the original animated series features 9 episodes, and the voice cast includes Ross Marquand as Professor X, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Lenore Zann as Rogue, and George Buza as Beast.
X-Men '97 Season 2 premieres on Disney+ on July 1.