X-Men '97 director on future: 'There's always a path we can go down'
With a second season already confirmed, Jake Castorena hints at what might be next for the acclaimed animation.
Picking up where the iconic '90s animation left off, revival series X-Men '97 has won plaudits across its 10-episode run, with fans and critics raving about the comic book adaptation's visual spectacle, powerful storytelling, and nuanced characterisation.
A second season is already in the works – good news for fans left with withdrawal symptoms after the first season finale, Tolerance is Extinction Part 3, hit Disney Plus today (15th May).
But what might the future hold beyond that? With decades-worth of comic book source material to potentially adapt, are the X-Men '97 creative team already thinking further ahead than just season 2?
Quizzed on this possibility by RadioTimes.com, director/producer Jake Castorena replied: "What I can say is there are always conversations!
"X-Men, it is a rich IP, with tons of stories and characters, so there's always an avenue or a path that we can go down.
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"What I can speak to is [...] we are in production on season 2, and... that is about as much as I can say right now!"
Though it's not an outright confirmation of further seasons, it's heartening to hear that "conversations" about the long-term future of X-Men '97 are already underway.
If a third season is greenlit, it will be the first batch of episodes produced without original showrunner Beau DeMayo, who parted ways with Marvel after completing writing on the second season.
The show's first 10 episodes continued the story from where the original X-Men: The Animated Series left off, with Charles Xavier having left Earth to receive medical treatment from the Shi'ar, leaving Cyclops to lead the team.
However, the reveal that Xavier has left Magneto in charge of the Xavier Institute leads to tensions and new dynamics within the team, who later face a devastating loss of one of their own.
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Much of the original cast from X-Men: The Animated Series returned for the revival – including Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Lenore Zann as Rogue and George Buza as Beast.
However, certain roles have been recast, with legacy cast members appearing in new roles instead.
Explaining the logic behind this decision, Castorena said: "For those who wanted to come back and for whatever reasons weren't able to do the voice, we brought them back to play other characters, to make sure we still had everybody in the sandbox.
"Honestly, it's a way to get everybody back. It's the best way to get everybody back, as best as we could."
X-Men '97 is streaming now on Disney Plus – sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year.
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