Kevin Feige Considered Making ‘X-Men ’97’ Canon
Ahead of the release of X-Men ’97, Marvel made it clear that the continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series would take place outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
“We are our own thing,” showrunner Beau DeMayo said before the show’s release.
While the decision made a ton of sense and will likely give the series an opportunity to expand in unfettered directions, the reception to X-Men ’97 has been so positive that many want to make this version of the iconic Marvel team the definitive version.
Kevin Feige Considered Making ‘X-Men ’97’ Canon
Interestingly, in a recent interview with Inverse, X-Men ’97 director Emi Yonemura revealed that Kevin Feige and his team did, in fact, consider making the series canon.
“That has always been something we know was on Kevin Feige’s mind, do we make this part of the MCU? Do we not make this part of the MCU?” she said. “It’s actually gone back and forth quite a few times, and I think we did land in a smart place because [X-Men: The Animated Series] was its own thing, and I think that to continue it we needed to be our own thing.”
Despite the fact that X-Men ’97 is definitively set outside of the broader MCU, that does not mean the show won’t affect the future of the cinematic universe.
The Best of Both Worlds
With the X-Men set to properly join the MCU, X-Men ’97 has helped put the characters back in front of popular culture. Additionally, the series has been so good that many have wanted the animated series’ team to be given the job of bringing Charles Xavier and his X-Men into the MCU.
“We’re getting the X-Men in this format, and we’re doing it justice not just by ourselves, but also other fans as well, and we’re starting to get a resurgence of the X-Men in film again,” X-Men ’97 director Jake Castorena explains. “I love that. And I think it’s great that we can have different things; let them be different.”
With other Marvel characters potentially showing up in X-Men ’97 (I’m looking at you, Captain America), Castorena believes that the animated series’ team has gotten the best of both worlds.
“If you try to connect things like that, it may or may not, I dare not say, hinder storytelling. But let them do their stories,” Castorena says. “Let us do our stories and let the rest of the world eat it up, man.”
X-Men ’97 is streaming on Disney+.
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