Marvel fans have been enjoying a lot of good content recently. From Daredevil: Born Again's critically-acclaimed second season to Spider-Man: Brand New Day's dominant box office performance, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been "eating good" (as the kids like to say). And this is before Avengers: Doomsday kicks off the Multiverse Saga's culmination in the not-too-distant future.
After some missteps Marvel Studios has found its footing on the movie side of things, but the TV side has been a little more uncertain. Although Daredevil will return for a third season - and VisionQuest is still to come this October - there is a significant lack of MCU content on the Disney Plus side of things. That might be intentional or it might just be a side-effect of some recent reshuffling. But the good news is that Marvel's best show has been renewed for at least two more seasons.
X-Men '97 will return for seasons 3 and 4 across the next two years
Marvel's Mightiest Mutants have been entertaining audiences around the world on Disney Plus this year via the second season of X-Men '97 and, even though that second season will conclude this coming week, their adventures are far from over. Not only will the show return for a third season next year, a fourth season is in development, with Marvel Studios' Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, confirming that it will arrive the year after that, too.
In a brand new interview with Collider, Winderbaum confirmed: "Season 3 is going to come out next year and Season 4 the year after that." And with that, we can look forward to new adventures from the X-Men in 2027 and 2028 - the latter of which is particularly exciting as this will be the year in which Marvel Studios also introduce us to the MCU's live-action X-Men in the long-awaited 2028 reboot.
X-Men '97 has been a resounding success for Marvel Animation. The revival of the original X-Men: The Animated Series, which entertained us all throughout the 1990s, it has received critical acclaim for building on the emotionally mature tone that made its predecessor such a thought-provoking gem of its time while also allowing its modern streaming approach and adult animation to take it to even more mature places. This has resulted in an overwhelmingly positive response from fans of the original and the new series itself, with adoration directed towards the project all around.
Despite its success, there was a significantly long gap between the first and second seasons, with the former arriving in summer 2024 and the sophomore outing not hitting screens until summer 2026. Winderbaum's recent comments reassures fans that this won't be the case for the next two seasons, which will finally allow the show to adopt that annual approach that Marvel TV was looking to adopt for its ongoing programs.
As for how long X-Men '97 might last, Winderbaum has hopes and dreams of making it a lengthy run, telling Collider that he would love to crank out as many seasons as quickly as possible: "I just want to make as many [seasons] as fast as possible for people to see.”
A sign of hope in an uncertain time for Marvel TV
The confirmation that X-Men '97 has essentially received a double-renewal is a sign of life for Marvel Television. While the studio initially kicked off the MCU's Multiverse Saga with multiple Disney Plus shows, forced restructuring resulted in Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige changing the way things worked on the TV side. He, Brad Winderbaum, and all involved formed the new Marvel Television, specifically designed to deliver ongoing multi-season TV shows set within the MCU (instead of one-and-done miniseries that watered down the franchise's cinematic value).
That essentially looked like Daredevil: Born Again, which was primed for this era, a bunch of animated shows (X-Men '97, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Eyes of Wakanda, and Marvel Zombies), and the leftover miniseries from the previous MCU TV era (Ironheart, Wonder Man, and VisionQuest). It looked like the studio might revisit some projects from that era to add to their ongoing list, but with a planned second season of Hawkeye not coming to fruition and an unexpected Wonder Man cancellation (after just being renewed earlier this year), it's clear that the Marvel TV landscape is changing once again.
Right now, it looks like Marvel Studios is moving away from live-action TV shows - at least on a regular basis. Daredevil: Born Again might last beyond season 3 as it works as a TV series in a way that most others don't (and there are no long-term movie plans for those characters) and there will probably be opportunities to revisit other TV properties down the line. But despite any changes of plans, that clearly doesn't apply to the animated side of things - which X-Men '97's renewals have confirmed.
Perhaps Marvel Television's future truly is in Marvel Animation. We know that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been renewed for two more seasons as well, and the former-movie-turned-miniseries Marvel Zombies earned itself a second season renewal earlier this year. So, these projects aren't leftovers from a previous era; Marvel is actively investing in making more seasons of them in a way that - Daredevil aside - they simply aren't with the live-action shows at this moment in time.
With a new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the horizon - one that is largely expected to focus on the X-Men (a.k.a. "the Mutants Era") - Marvel Studios' plans are in a state of flux as it transitions out of the Multiverse Saga and into the next one. But we do know that their commitment to Marvel Animation - and, again, the X-Men - remains stronger than ever. And that's a very welcome silver lining in all of this Marvel change right now.
To me, my X-Men for two more seasons!
X-Men '97 season 2 is now streaming on Disney Plus. Season 3 will premiere in 2027 and season 4 will arrive in 2028.
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