X-Men '97 season 2: Everything we know so far

Sure, X-Men ’97 has ended, but unlike other Marvel shows that serve as a 6-8 episode limited series, X-Men ’97 is coming back for a second and third season. Which is great, because we can’t imagine ending on a cliffhanger like that and never returning (or, in the case of flagship show X-Men: The Animated series, ending on a cliffhanger and then leaving for nearly 30 years).

While we don’t know much about X-Men ’97 season 2, we do have a pretty good idea of what the plot will be about – especially given the fact that the season 1 finale set up quite a few comic book-accurate plotlines.

Below are some spoilers for X-Men ’97 season 1, so if you haven’t finished the show… we don’t recommend scrolling down. If you have, however, feel free to read up on everything we know about X-Men ’97 season 2 thus far.

X-Men ’97 season 2 release date

X-Men '97

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

X-Men ’97 was first announced in 2021 and took a little over three years to get to our TV screens, officially landing on March 20, 2024. We don’t have a release date for season 2 just yet, but because the second season is currently in production – we’d say it’ll hit Disney Plus sometime in late 2025.

X-Men ’97 season 2 plot

X-Men '97 episode 9 still

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Let’s recap X-Men ’97 episode 10, shall we? After the UN fires their “Magneto protocol,” it backfired majorly and threatened to send Asteroid M to Earth. Professor X is able to fix Magneto’s psyche and guide him back to his body, which allows him to save the world from Asteroid M, but it throws Rogue, Storm, Xavier, Logan, Beast, Nightcrawler, and Magneto into Egypt circa 3000 BC. Jean and Scott end up somewhere in the Future circa 3960 AD with a teenaged, pre-Cable version of their son Nathan and a woman named Mother Askani (who is Rachel Summers, their time-lost daughter, in the comics).

We then fast-forward six months to find that Forge is ‘the last X-Man’ left on Earth. Jubilee, Sunspot, and Cable, though having survived the Blip-like ending, are marked “AWOL.” Bishop, however, returns from his episode 2 stint in the future to help Forge ‘rebuild’ the X-Men.

A post-credits scene takes us to Present Day Genosha, where a big bad named Apocalypse lifts Gambit’s playing card out of the dirt. This is ominous for two reasons: Before the credits roll, Bishop remarks, “This ain’t our first time at the ‘The X-Men are dead rodeo'” and a man named En Sabah Nur introduces himself to the X-Men trapped in Egypt BC. Well folks, En Sabah Nur is the mutant warrior known as Apocalypse, who is also leader of the Four Horsemen, which is a group that Gambit becomes part of in the comics.

In terms of plotlines for season 2, Jake Castorena, supervising producer and head director of X-Men ’97 had this to say to Entertainment Weekly: “Oh, did something happen with Gambit in the comics? Oh, that’s cool.” In reference to the post-credits scene, he also said that, “Everything is meticulously planned.”

We can count on season 2 to pick up where the finale leaves off, of course. It’s likely that our beloved Gambit will return from the dead, but in a spooky scary zombie villain format. It’s also likely that one of the plotlines will draw from the 1994 comic miniseries The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, seeing as it follows Scott and Jean in the future with Nathan, Mother Askani, and Apocalypse in tow.

It’s also known that series creator and former showrunner Beau DeMayo wrote part of season 2 prior to being let go by Disney.

“I did write a lot of Season 2,” DeMayo tweeted. “However, unlike Season 1, I will not be heavily involved or leading production, cast records, design, editorial, post, music, etc., nor doing any production rewrites as it relates to the creative vision of the show.”

Head of Marvel Animation Brad Winderbaumthe told EW that the team “will have a new head writer for season 3,” but notes that they “are honoring Beau’s ideas for the second season.”

X-Men ’97 season 2 cast

X-Men '97 episode 10 still

(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

There hasn’t been any casting news as of yet, but we can assume new additions to the cast will be announced as we get closer and closer to season 2. The original voice actors from X-Men: The Animated Series make up a good percentage of the season 1 cast, though some of them are voicing different characters than they did in the original show. Still, we put together our best guess as to who will return for season 2, including the core cast and the new voice actors introduced in the season finale.