The X-Men are finally back in X-Men ’97 trailer

Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and its stable of superheroes in 2019, but it’s taken the company a while to incorporate those characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, five years later, Marvel is finally getting around to it: this week, we got the trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, a casting announcement for The Fantastic Four, and now, a trailer for X-Men ’97 (premiering March 20). The new animated series isn’t part of the MCU, per se (unless you count it under the multiverse umbrella), but it still marks Disney’s most significant foray into X-Men canon yet.

Picking up where the beloved original cartoon left off, “X-Men ’97 revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future,” per a synopsis for the sequel series. Many of the surviving voice cast members from the ’90s show are returning, including Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Beast), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler), and Chris Britton (Mister Sinister). They’re joined by Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, JP Karliak as Morph, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, and Matthew Waterson as Magneto. (As a bonus, The White Lotus’ Theo James will also appear in a mystery “fan-favorite” role, according to Entertainment Weekly.)

The trailer for the show picks up right at the finale of X-Men: The Animated Series. Professor X is gone, and anti-mutant sentiment appears to be on the rise. With their leader gone, Cyclops steps in to fill his shoes. But the power void has left another opening: Magneto has obtained the last will and testament of Charles Xavier and “everything he built… now belongs to me,” Erik announces ominously.

As the MCU flounders to find its footing in a post-Endgame world, X-Men ’97 seems like an actual smart move forward for Disney’s superhero stable. As opposed to the expensive, mixed-quality live-action MCU series, returning to a classic 2D animated show is a perfect fit for Disney+ viewing. It capitalizes on millennial superhero nostalgia in a way that feels organic rather than cynical. Plus, it’s a fun and exciting way to explore the characters without the limitations of live action. Kevin Feige is no doubt still tinkering with ways to bring the X-Men into the actual MCU, but X-Men ’97 is a great start.