Previously on X-Men… the X-Men died saving the Earth from extinction by asteroid. At least that’s what many believe in X-Men ’97‘s season 1 finale, which culminates in the X-Men dividing into two teams to save both human and mutantkind from extinction. Three-parter “Tolerance Is Extinction” sees Professor X (Ross Marquand) and Magneto (Matthew Waterson) engage in a battle of body and mind, while the X-Men prevent Sentinel-human hybrid Bastion (Theo James) from hurling Magneto’s Asteroid M into the Earth to cause an extinction event.
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Magneto, Xavier, and the rest of the X-Men seemingly perish, with Forge (Gil Birmingham) failing to find any trace of the asteroid or the X-Men. Six months after “E-Day,” the X-Man Bishop (Isaac Robinson-Smith) tells Forge that the X-Men have been transported through time, setting up their rescue mission with new mutants who aren’t missing and presumed dead.
X-Men ’97 season 2 will take place across multiple timelines spanning the past, present, and future. In ancient Egypt in the year 3000 BCE, Xavier, Magneto, Rogue (Lenore Zann), Nightcrawler (Adrian Hough), and Beast (George Buza) meet En Sabah Nur (Adetokumboh M’Cormack) — the future Apocalypse (Marquand) — while in the year 3960, Cyclops (Ray Chase) and Jean Grey (Jennifer Hale) meet young Nathan, the future Cable (Chris Potter).
ComicBook can share an excerpt from X-Men ’97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series (Abrams Books, out July 1), the official behind-the-scenes art book that offers an in-depth look at the production of the 10-episode first season. But episodic directors Emi/Emmett Yonemura and supervising producer-director Jake Castorena also offered a tease for X-Men ’97‘s sophomore season, which is expected to air on Disney+ in 2026.
“I have to give a big shout-out to our team, our Production Designer Anthony Go Wu, our Art Director Roger Oda, and the whole color and paint team, because what they’re going to be doing — you’re seeing little snippets,” Castorena is quoted saying in the book of the season finale, which ends with golden deserts of ancient Egypt and the purple-hued future of Clan Askani. “Season 2 is going to be some of the most beautiful work I think we’ll get to see in episodic TV animation, just as far as what our color and paint team is doing for environments and designs.”
Castorena also confirmed the settings have to be distinct because “there’s going to be some jumping back and forth” between the past, future, and the present, which left off with the anti-mutant Friends of Humanity’s Graydon Creed — the son of Sabretooth and Mystique — edging ahead in political polls, and extremists preaching “the Second Coming of Magneto.” Meanwhile, Wolverine (Cal Dodd) and Storm (Alison Sealy-Smith) are among those unaccounted for by season’s end.
“I’m just really excited for what our internal team is doing to help differentiate all that good stuff,” Castorena said. “And I’m sorry you guys are going to have to wait to see it. But, you know, let us bake the cake.”
The first season featured a number of cameos from across the Marvel Universe. Not only did Morph (J.P. Karliak) shapeshift into the likes of Colossus, Psylocke, Juggernaut, the Hulk, and the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, but characters who appeared throughout the season include Captain America, Iron Man, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Cloak and Dagger, Omega Red, Doctor Doom, and Spider-Man from 1994’s Spider-Man: The Animated Series. “If you like cameos, you won’t be disappointed,” Castorena added of season 2.
Speaking of cameos, a mid-credits sequence set in present-day Genosha — where the X-Man Gambit (A.J. LoCascio) died in episode 5, “Remember It” — ended with Apocalypse picking up one of Gambit’s playing cards, saying, “So much pain, my children. So much… death.” The first mutant previously appeared on X-Men: The Animated Series alongside his four Horsemen: Famine, Pestilence, War, and Death, who just might be the ragin’ Cajun next time around.
“I mean, you see that hand, and you see that card,” Yonemura said. “That’s all we want people to know.”
Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 is expected to premiere sometime in 2026 on Disney+. X-Men ’97: The Art and Making of the Animated Series goes on sale July 1 from Abrams.
