A special variant cover for July’s X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA #1 will give eager fans a sneak peek at Marvel Studios’ X-Men ’97, the upcoming Disney+ series and sequel to the iconic X-Men: The Animated Series. Dan Veesenmeyer, a storyboard artist on the original series and the illustrator behind the packaging for Hasbro’s recent Marvel Legends 90s Animated Series line, captures the excitement behind the X-Men’s animated heyday in this stunning cover.
The piece spotlights the main cast of the show including Magneto, who will join the X-Men in the series. Adorning the one-shot that will propel the X-Men into the FALL OF X era, the X-MEN: HELLFIRE GALA #1 X-MEN ’97 VARIANT COVER celebrates the X-Men’s return to the world of animation in style and hits stands just in time for the X-Men’s milestone 60th anniversary.
You can check out the cover below:
“X-Men ’97” will be a continuation of the beloved 1990s “X-Men” animated series that ran for five seasons (76 episodes), from 1992 through 1997. Following a familiar team with the “DNA of the original show,” an impactful event in “X-Men ‘97” will launch the reunited X-Men into an all-new chapter that will resonate with fans of the original series.
The animated series will explore new stories in the iconic 90s timeline of the original series featuring beloved characters like Professor X, Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Jubilee, Rogue, Storm, Gambit, Magneto, and more. Nightcrawler, Cable, Bishop, Morph, Forge, and Sunspot will also appear in the series.
The upcoming series will take place several months after the original series and Beau DeMayo, who is the showrunner and head writer of the new series, recently shared a brief synopsis which you can see below:
“Storm and Wolverine try to continue the X-Men. Magneto comes in and wants to step up for Charles Xavier. Sinister comes in to try to end the X-Men once and for all.”
Featuring the voice talents of original X-Men: The Animated Series cast members including Cal Dodd, Lenore Zann, George Buza, Alison Sealy-Smith, Chris Potter, Catherine Disher, Adrian Hough, and Christopher Britton, some cast members of “X-Men ‘97” will reprise their original roles, with others voicing entirely brand-new parts.
“X-Men ’97” will also welcome a number of new voices to the cast, including Jennifer Hale, Anniwaa Buachie, Ray Chase, Matthew Waterson, JP Karliak, Holly Chou, Jeff Bennett, and AJ LoCascio.
The head writer and executive producer on “X-Men ’97” is Beau DeMayo. Supervising director is Jake Castorena and supervising producer is Charley Feldman. Also consulting on the new series are X-Men: The Animated Series producers and showrunners Eric and Julia Lewald, plus original series director Larry Houston.
The show will also use the original “X-Men” theme music.
A Disney+ release date for “X-Men ’97” has not been announced yet however it is rumored to premiere in January 2024. A second season of the series is already in the works.
All five seasons of the original X-Men: The Animated Series are currently available to stream on Disney+.
Source: Marvel.com