‘X-Men ’97’ Lead Character Designer Amelia Vidal Talks The Iconic Team’s Return
After a nearly 30-year absence, the story of X-Men: The Animated Series is finally set to continue when X-Men ’97 lands on Disney+ this March.
The series will find the X-Men picking up the pieces after the death of Profession Xavier. With Storm and Cyclops now leading the team, the X-Men must continue to do the work that Professor X started. Oh, and Magneto has been named as Xavier’s heir in his will.
Photo: Marvel Studios
Based on the high number of views that the first trailer for X-Men ’97 received, expectations are clearly high.
Designing the X-Men’s Return
When it came to bringing the iconic Marvel team back, the job fell to Lead Character Designer Amerlia Vidal.
Growing up in Argentina, Vidal fell in love with the X-Men by watching the original animated series in the afternoon.
Photo: Marvel
“I knew the X-Men thanks to the original show, and I read comics from a very young age. I am from South America, specifically Argentina, and the X-Men comics were published there in the late ’90s. So, the animated show introduced me to Marvel comics. I remember the show with great affection,” Vidal explains.
Photo: Marvel
“For me, it meant spending the afternoons having chocolate milk with cookies while watching the show. I liked drawing them with my magic markers and I recorded the episodes on VHS to watch them later over and over again. I got to learn dialogues by heart, so yes…I was a big fan!”
Keeper of the Flame
After joining Marvel for What If…?, Vidal was given a chance to do a pitch for X-Men ’97. As it turns out, Marvel loved Vidal’s designs, and the rest was history.
The series will reunite fans with the versions of characters that they fell in love with years ago. That bond is something that Vidal is keenly aware of.
Photo: Marvel
“I deeply love these characters, and one thing I wanted to convey was that although these designs have their own identity and style, [I wanted to make it] feel as if we were revisiting the same people again. What would I like to see as a fan of the original show after so long?” she explained.
“I would want a reunion with the characters I met, and not strangers dressed in similar clothes. We treat the characters with a lot of respect, not just in the design team, it is something that is seen in every area of the show.”
Vidal is Excited For Fans to See Her Work
With the show less than a month away from premiering, Vidal is excited for fans to see the finished result.
Photo: Marvel
“As a fan of X-Men, I designed with the goal of what I would like to see as a fan. What can I add to the designs so that they look cool on the screen and have great animation? Like what can we add or remove, what can we keep and protect? What can we do to make a real upgrade? I think since I’ve been working on the show I haven’t come across anyone who doesn’t love the X-Men,” she said.
Photo: Marvel
“I think that will be reflected in the decisions made consciously by artists, directors, scriptwriters, coordinators, producers, and executives who love the X-Men. And we do our best day by day so that fans can reconnect with the characters we left in ’97 and we can follow their stories together once again, like when we were kids but with an adult appreciation.”
X-Men ’97 will premiere on Disney+ on March 20.
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