X-Men ’97 confirmed to release on Disney Plus in 2023

San Diego Comic-Con gave us our first look at X-Men ’97, the Disney Plus revival of the 90s classic, X-Men: The Animated Series, which is set to debut in 2023.

Ask any adult gifted enough with the youth of 90s cartoons to name the greatest of that time. It won’t take long before you get X-Men.

There was so much to love about Fox’s X-Men: The Animated Series. From its classic opening theme to the campy 90s dialogue and its complex story. Through the years, we saw other animated X-Men, from X-Men Evolution to Wolverine and the X-Men, but none of them compared to the classic.

Disney realized the gold-mine Fox had on their hand, which is why Kevin Feige and company brought the X-Men back, in the appropriately titled X-Men ’97. Thanks to DiscussingFilm, we got our first look at the 90s animated series set to debut on Disney Plus in 2023.

What was X-Men: The Animated Series about?

X-Men: The Animated Series ran for five seasons, which surpassed its original 65-episode contract. Fox didn’t believe in the original franchise, which showed in their budget and reluctance to continue the story. The series brought to life some classic story arcs, like the Dark Phoenix Saga, Apocalypse, and X-Men vs. the Maurders. The latter had one of the best fight scenes — Storm vs. Callisto. It goes beyond the fights, though.

We saw characters struggling with who they were and trying to find their place in the world. The X-Men cartoon wasn’t just an escape. It taught lessons within the excitement. The human vs. mutant war was on full display throughout the series, with an underlining allegory of oppression, activism, unity, and so much more.

The series featured Storm and showed fans why she was the leader of the X-Men. It gave us a coming-of-age story with Jubilee. They gave us some crazy love stories that featured Cyclops, Wolverine, and Jean. There was also Gambit, Rogue, Storm, oh, and Wolverine again. The Wolverine we saw in X-Men: The Animated Series set the bar high despite Fox’s lack of support, so much so that the live-action movies in the early 2000s couldn’t deliver.

By way of Disney Plus, a new generation will see the X-Men so many of us grew up with. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until the fall of 2023 for X-Men ’97 — it’ll be worth it.