‘X-Men ’97’ Creator Fired As Series Nears Premiere

Just days before the show is set to premiere on Disney+, Marvel has reportedly “fired” X-Men ’97’ creator Beau DeMayo.

Thus far, neither Marvel nor DeMayo have commented on the news. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Marvel and DeMayo suddenly parted ways” early last week.

“His company email was deactivated and cast and crew were informed he was no longer on the project,” they added. “DeMayo’s Instagram account, once a source for X-Men updates, was deleted. No reason for the firing was given.”

The new series is a long-anticipated continuation of the X-Men: The Animated Series of the 1990s, which helped introduce a whole generation of fans to X-Men, and is even credited with encouraging Fox to begin its live-action X-Men movie franchise.

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When Marvel acquired the X-Men film and TV license from Fox, one of their first moves was to begin work on this animated series. They have also incorporated references to the old X-Men show — like its famous theme song — into Marvel movies like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

The new show picks up where the old one left off, and includes several members of the original X-Men animated voice cast.

X-Men ’97 was first announced in November of 2021; DeMayo has been with the show since then. In interviews, he had spoken about how he had been a fan of the X-Men animated series growing up. DeMayo has previously worked on Marvel’s Moon Knight series and contributed drafts to their Blade reboot as well.

X-Men ’97 is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on March 20.

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