X-Men ’97 Heroes And Villains Revealed
Although Marvel may be in a bit of trouble when it comes to their big-screen productions like Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts, the studio’s smaller format productions are shaping up just right. For many of us who had a chunk of our childhoods in the ‘90s, there’s no title more anticipated than X-Men ‘97, an animated series that will bring back our favorite mutants from the comic pages to television all over again. The show’s premiere has been given the release window of early this year and we now have the lineup of who will be voicing the heroes and villains, getting us one step closer to reliving the magic more than two decades since X-Men: The Animated Series went off the air.
The Good Guys
The vocal cast for X-Men ‘97 will be filled with some familiar voices from other animated productions and video games, with the heroes played by Ray Chase (Final Fantasy XV) as Scott Summers/Cyclops, Jennifer Hale (Baldur’s Gate) as Jean Grey, George Buza reprising his role as Henry McCoy/Beast, Lenore Zahn reprising her role as Anne-Marie Raven/Rogue, A.J. LoCascio (Voltron: Legendary Defender) as Remy LeBeau/Gambit, Alison Sealy-Smith returning to the role of Ororo Munroe/Storm, Holly Chau as Jubilation Lee/Jubilee, Cathal J. Dodd returning as James “Logan” Howlett/Wolverine, Matthew Waterson as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (who’s leading the X-Men this time around believe it or not), and Gui Agustini reprising his role as Roberto de Costa/Sunspot.
The Bad Guys
As far as the bad guys of X-Men ‘97 are concerned, Christopher Britton will be back to play Nathaniel Essex/Mister Sinister. Other villains including the Hellfire Club members Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost/White Queen and Bolivar Trask, the creator of the Sentinels are also set to make a comeback but their actors haven’t been revealed yet. We also know that other original cast members including Alyson Court, Adrian Hough, Chris Potter, and Catherine Disher will return to the series but in different roles than they first introduced all those years ago
Still Some Unknowns
Like a handful of the villains, some of the good guys for X-Men ‘97 haven’t had their vocal talent revealed with characters like Cable, Bishop, Nightcrawler, Forge, and Morph penned to pop up in the series. While we can’t say for sure, there’s a solid chance that any of these missing villain or X-Men roles could go to JP Karliak, Anniwaa Buachie, or Jeff Bennett, who are all on the show’s call sheet but have yet to announce who they’ll be playing.
A New Addition From The Comics
Audiences can also prepare themselves for the character Val Cooper to make an entrance as the show’s creator, Beau DeMayo, has teased that the character has her own plans for the team of world-saving mutants that will unfold during the production.
As Successful as What If?
For the most part, the adventures that we’ll see the gang of heroes and villains embark on in X-Men ‘97 are mostly being kept under wraps, but if it’s anything like the original show, it will keep audiences engaged with expert storytelling, incredible vocal performances, and animation like you’ve never seen before. With Disney+ experiencing major success with its other Marvel-related animated series, What If…? along with X-Men ‘97’s already built-in following, it’s no surprise that the latter is already in development for a sophomore season.
