X-Men 97 season 2: what we know about the hit Marvel show’s return on Disney Plus

X-Men 97 season 2 should pick up right after its predecessor

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• No release date announced yet- Development at the midway point as May 2024- All of Marvel’s in-development animated shows will arrive in next 12 to 18 months- Season 2 scripts completed before former showrunner Beau DeMayo’s departure- Main cast all expected to return- New characters teased at D23 Expo 2024- Should pick up story threads from the season 1 finale- Comic books provide clues about story’s direction- New showrunner reportedly found for season 3

It sounds like it’ll be a while beforeX-Men 97season 2 debuts onDisney Plus. Just three months after its predecessor’s finale, the animated series' return is one of the most anticipated amongMarvel’s fanbase – and with good reason. Frankly, it’s one of the best things – if notthebest thing – that the comic giant has made since Avengers: Endgame, so we certainly can’t wait for its arrival.

Alas, we’ll have to do just that, becauseX-Men 97’s second season won’t be here for some time yet. To find out why, you’ll have to read through this guide. Rest assured, if you do, you’ll learn even more interesting things about theMarvel Phase 5TV series' next outing, including its confirmed cast, potential storylines, and other exciting news and updates.Full spoilers follow forX-Men 97season 1. Additionally,potential season 2 spoilers are also discussed, so proceed at your own risk.

X-Men 97 season 2 release date: what we know

Marvel hasn’t confirmed when theX-Men’s latest animated series will return on Disney Plus, aka one of the world’sbest streaming services. However, speaking during the Marvel Animation panel at D23 Expo 2024, the studio’s Head of TV and Streaming Brad Winderbaum said every in-development animated series will release sometime in the next 12 to 18 months (perThe Direct). As long as there aren’t any production setbacks,X-Men 97season 2 could launch any time between August 2025 and February 2026.

So, when do we think one of thebest Disney Plus showswill return? According toThe Hollywood Reporter(THR), season 2’s scripts were completed beforeX-Men 97’s showrunner Beau DeMayo parted ways with Marvel ahead of season 1’s debutin March.

Two months later, Winderbaum explained toIGNthat they were “halfway through” development, too, before telling the Official Marvel Podcast in July (as reported byTechRadar) that the team was “well on our way to creating something that hits the heights of the first season”, so it sounds like there’s still plenty of work to be done.

Based on the above, then, we predict thatX-Men 97’s sophomore season won’t debut until early 2026. Sure, production might have wrapped by this time next year but, with many other Marvel TV shows also waiting for official Disney Plus release dates –Ironheart,Marvel Zombies,Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, andWhat If…?season 3 to name just four – there are plenty of other projects vying for launch date approval. Some of them are further ahead in their development cycle thanX-Men 97season 2, too, so we’re likely to see them before the subject of this guide.

X-Men 97 season 2 trailer: is there one?

No, there isn’t – and we won’t get one until closer to launch. We’ll update this section once one is released.

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X-Men 97 season 2 cast: likely and rumored

Full spoilers follow forX-Men 97season 1.

Here’s who we expect to see again inX-Men 97season 2:

There are bound to be other returning faces (or, rather, voices) in season 2. Catherine Disher should be back as U.N. official and mutant sympathizer Doctor Valerie Cooper, as should Rob Rubin as U.S. President Robert Kelly and Martha Marion as Emma Frost.

As for more spoiler-based returns, Adetokumboh M’Cormack is likely to return as En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse acrossX-Men 97’s three timelines (more on the show’s time-traveling storylines in a moment). Gates McFadden is another who we’d expect to be back as Mother Askani (again, she’s tied toX-Men 97’s far-flung future narrative). Lastly, A.J. LoCascio could voice Remy LeBeau/Gambit again if En Sabah Nur resurrects the deceased mutant as one of his Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

X-Men 97 season 2 stuff included Polaris, Bishop, Apocalypse, Danger, and so much more. Sizzle we saw was 🔥🔥🔥🔥 covering so much.August 10, 2024

We’ll see some new faces inX-Men 97season 2 as well. At D23 Expo 2024’s Marvel Animation panel, Polaris – real name Lorna Dane and Magneto’s daughter – was confirmed as part of the cast (viaDiscussing Film).

There were contrasting reports about another character debut, too, with some outlets (including Discussing Film andScreen Time) claiming we’ll see Danger, the physical manifestation of the supergroup’s Danger Room training program, appear in season 2. However, other websites (such asThe DisInsider) claimed that some people had incorrectly identified Warlock, a techno-organic being from the alien planet Kvch, as Danger. Ex-showrunnerBeau DeMayo, who penned season 2’s scripts before he parted ways with Marvel in March, has since clarified it’s Danger, not Warlock, who’ll appear.

While it’s incredibly unlikely that Cassandra Nova will appear inX-Men 97season 2, Emma Corrin, who played the character inDeadpool and Wolverine, told TechRadarthey’d “love to” voice Nova in a future season, too. We’re manifesting a post-credits scene where Nova is teased ahead of the show’s third season.

X-Men 97 season 2 story speculation

Major story spoilers follow forX-Men 97season 1.

Marvel hasn’t revealed anything aboutX-Men 97season 2’s plot, but there’s plenty we can infer about it, given what happened in the season 1 finale. You’ll want to read ourX-Men 97season 1 ending explainedarticle to see what its final episode – ‘Tolerance Is Extinction Part 3’ – sets up for the show’s next installment.

Now you’re all caught up, you’ll knowX-Men 97season 2 will, in its early episodes at least, be set across three timelines: the present (1997 in-universe), almost three millennia in the past (3000 B.C. in Ancient Egypt, to be precise), and 3980 A.D, i.e. the far flung future.

Let’s start with those who are seemingly trapped in the past. As the season 1 finale revealed, the X-Men were separated across these time periods, with Professor X, Beast, Rogue, Magneto, and Nightcrawler – the latter duo will finally share scenes in season 2, according to Magneto voice actor Matthew Waterson (perCollider) – being sent back in time. They help to thwart a gang attack on an Egyptian town, which is where they’re introduced to/reunited with En Sabah Nur.

Why “reunited”? Because the super group battled Apocalypse inX-Men :The Animated Series(X: TAS).The fact that they cross paths with him again, albeit in his pre-Apocalypse form, is incredibly fascinating. Not only will they potentially have to work with Nur to stop a greater threat (more on this shortly), but they may even have the chance to help Nur walk a more righteous path, thereby stopping him from becoming Apocalypse in the first place. Well, unless his evolution into Apocalypse is one of those fixed points on the Marvel timeline that can’t be altered.

Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see if the aforementioned quintet gets involved in Nur’s ongoing war with his rival, who’s none other than Kang the Conqueror – albeit in one of his many guises as Egyptian Pharaoh Rama-Tut. Of equal intrigue will be how much we see of Rama-Tut, given that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has moved from Kang afterMarvel’s firing of Kang actor Jonathan Majorsand hired former Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr to play Doctor Doom, the Multiverse Saga’s new big bad, in numerousMarvel Phase 6projects.X-Men 97season 2, then, might be the last time we see Kang (or one of his aliases) for a while.

The X-Men will wear Grant Morrison suits in ‘X-MEN 97’ Season 2. pic.twitter.com/yckXUCao58August 10, 2024

As for Scott Summers/Cyclops and Jean Grey, they were sent forward in time and met a child version of Nathan Summers, i.e. the son of Scott and Madelyne Pryor who goes on to become the time-traveling mutant known as Cable. This reunion gives Scott the chance to be there for his son – remember, Mr. Sinister infected Nathan with a techno-virus, in season 1 episode 3, when Nathan was a baby. To save Nathan’s life, Scott handed him over to Bishop, who took Nathan into the far future to find a cure, so Scott missed out on raising his son. Having been sent into the future, Scott can make up for lost time.

That’s not the only issue the Summers family will have to deal with. Without spoiling too much, they’re tied to another future-dwelling individual – Mother Askani, who leads the tribe Nathan is a part of. For now, let’s just say things are going to get even more complicated for Scott and Jean – and that’s before they realize the Askani clan will need their help in defeating Apocalypse, who’s still alive at this point in time and lauding it over a post-apocalyptic Earth.

We just saw Magneto in court in an extended first look of X-Men ‘97 Season 2. #D23August 10, 2024

Meanwhile, in the present, it seems we might see the formation of an X-Men offshoot called X-Force. With the majority of the team stuck in the past and future, Cable might lead a group comprising Forge, Jubilee, Sunspot, and other mutants in temporarily defending Earth from extraterrestrial threats, as well as those planetside. Alternatively, Bishop – who’s traveled back to the present using his time-travel device – might enlist the remaining X-Men’s help in rescuing their fellow mutants from the past and future.

There are plenty of other plot threads that need to be picked up and/or resolved, too. We don’t know where Morph, Storm, and Wolverine are following the destruction of Asteroid M. Where Wolverine is concerned, we’ll also need to see how he deals with the psychological impact of having the adamantium stripped from his body by Magneto in season 1 episode 9. Comic book readers know what’s in store for Logan from this point on, but we’ll refrain from spoiling anything significant here.

Elsewhere, the burgeoning civil war that threatens the Shi’ar Empire is surely going to impact the X-Men and the wider animated Marvel universe in future seasons. Oh, and there’s the small (we use that term lightly) matter of the as-yet-to-be-revealedfalloutfrom Xavier and Magneto’s mind-based tête-à-tête that played out in the season 1 finale. Again, no spoilers, but long-time X-Men fans know that something sinister might be born out of this subplot – and their arrival may be even more of a universal threat than themajor Marvel villain introduced in season 1 episode 7.

Is X-Men 97 season 3 going to happen?

It certainly seems that way. Marvel hasn’t confirmed whetherX-Men 97season 2 will get a follow-up, but various reports – plus the show’s near-perfectRotten Tomatoesscores – strongly suggest season 3 will be greenlit, if it hasn’t already been internally.

And it appears as if it has, too. As part of its report on DeMayo’s departure, THR claimed (see the article we linked to in our release date section) that he’d tentatively discussed season 3 plans with the show’s other writers. It’s plausible, then, that some of these ideas could be used in a third installment. Even if they aren’t, there are plenty of storylines to draw from in the comics, with the X-Men’s illustrious literary history packed with great (and not-so-great) narratives.

Since then,Deadlinehas also claimed What If…? write Matthew Chauncey has been given the reins toX-Men 97season 3 following DeMayo’s departure. The wheels are certainly moving on another entry, then. Here’s hoping an official announcement is made as soon as possible so we know if we’ll be humming along to its iconic theme tune on Tuesday evenings/Wednesday mornings (depending on where you live) for years to come.

For more Marvel-based coverage, read our guides onhow to watch the Marvel movies in orderandhow to watch the X-Men movies in order. Alternatively, find out what we know aboutAgatha All Alongor see if you agree with our ranking of thebest Marvel movies.

As TechRadar’s senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You’ll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as thisMoon Knight TV spot.

Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across.

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