I. GAMBIT Gambit is famed for his card-throwing skills, his ability to charge objects with energy, and his on-off relationship with fellow mutant Rogue. "That's our one true pairing," says DeMayo. To modernise the story, they had to examine that romance, specifically how it's going to work between a telekinetic man and a woman who can't touch anyone without syphoning off their powers and memory.
2. ROGUE DeMayo refers to Rogue as "this great mascot for the show -- not in the high-school type of way". He interprets the power that physically isolates her from the world as an extreme form of empathy. "She can find a deeper type of intimacy and connection. You'll see that's a central theme this season."
3. JUBILEE Teenager Jubilation Jubilee' Lee, who can generate pyrotechnic energy-blasts from her hands, was always an audience surrogate for younger viewers. But now that role gets complicated. "'Jubilee always wants to be an adult, right?" says DeMayo. "Well, it's time to start adulting."
4. STORM In the comics, powerful weather mutant Storm has literally been worshipped by the people of the Serengeti. For DeMayo, what's interesting is how she handles those divine expectations, "Where is the room for her humanity? Where does she have the ability to be vulnerable [when she has] that much power?"
5. WOLVERINE The "broken-hearted samurai who thinks he's an animal", as DeMayo describes him, has been the heart of many an X-film since the show finished, yet there's always more to mine. As Castorena says, "What I love is, he has the most combat [training] of everyone on the team just because he's been alive long enough, and he throws it out the window every time."
6. BEAST Everyone's favourite "uncle", as labelled by DeMayo, remains the literally and figuratively cuddliest member of the team. "He's the guy who's always going to say the right thing, even if he's quoting somebody else. He's always going to have a solution. It may not be the perfect solution, but he's going to try very, very hard to fix the scientific problem of the day."
7. MORPH The death of shapeshifter Morph in the original animated series (it didn't stick, obviously) was shocking for young viewers, and it stuck with DeMayo. "'He really set the stakes," he says, "and he had a very interesting relationship with the team because of trauma." This is a lighter take on the character, who is nonbinary and has an interesting buddy relationship with Wolverine. The character's past with Mister Sinister, the show's villain, could also come into play.
8. BISHOP Time-travelling energy-absorber Bishop embodies the show's themes for DeMayo. "He's a man out of time, wondering what his future is. This season is very much about what happens when the X-Men are faced with a future they didn't expect." Can -- and should-- they carry on Professor X's dream of peaceful co-existence with humanity following the Professor's fatal injury and departure at the end of the original series? Only time, and episodes, will tell.
The new series will include Rogue, Beast, Gambit, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Jubilee and Cyclops. Magneto, now with long hair and a purple suit, will lead the X-Men. The animation, revealed at Comic Con on Friday, stays true to the original animated series, but looks more modern.
Cable, Bishop, Forge, Morph and Nightcrawler will also join the X-Men onscreen. Battling them will be the Hellfire Club with Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw, plus Mr. Sinister and Bolivar Trask will appear.
Bolivar Trask is known to be a villain alongside Sentinels.
Voice Cast
Cal Dodd as James Howlett/Wolverine
Lenore Zann as Anna-Marie Raven/Rogue
George Buza as Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy/Beast
Catherine Disher as Jean Grey
Chris Potter as Remy LeBeau/Gambit
Alison Sealy-Smith as Ororo Munroe/Storm
Adrian Hough as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler
Christopher Britton as Nathaniel Essex/Mister Sinister
Release date: March 20, 2024
X-Men 97 season 2 is in production. Don't miss any news - subscribe to our Facebook
