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

X-Men 97 season 2 might be the most highly anticipated project in development at Marvel Studios. 

Despite being a sequel to the 90s classic X-Men: The Animated Series (X:TAS), few people expected X-Men 97's first season to be as big of a hit as it was on Disney Plus. Indeed, it's put many of its contemporaries, including other Marvel Phase 5 productions, in the shade and proved that there's an audience for animated offerings of a similar quality (we're not naming names, What If?...). from the comic book giant.

But we digress. You're here to learn more about X-Men 97's sophomore outing. Below, we've rounded up the most important information we can find ahead of its return, including its potential release date, likely cast list, possible story threads, and more. Full spoilers follow for X-Men 97 season 1.

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

Marvel hasn't confirmed when we'll see the X-Men's latest animated series return on one of the world's best streaming services. A second season is in development, though, and has been since July 2022 (per Variety).

According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), season 2's scripts were completed before X-Men 97's showrunner Beau DeMayo parted ways with Marvel ahead of season 1's debut in March. The reason for DeMyao's unexpected departure hasn't been made public, but he's since confirmed (via X/Twitter) that he won't be involved in script rewrites or other phases of its production moving forward.

Ahead of X-Men 97 season 1's finale, Lenore Zann – who voiced Rogue – told NexusPointNews that she'd completed recording lines for one of the best Disney Plus shows' next entry. It's unclear if the rest of the cast have done likewise.

So, when can we expect X-Men 97 season 2 to be released? Speaking to ComicBook.com, Marvel Head of Television Brad Winderbaum insinuated it wouldn't be with us for some time as season 2 is still in its "animatic phase". Elaborating further to IGN, Winderbaum confirmed that the team was about "halfway through" development. In short: don't expect X-Men 97 to return to our screens until mid to late 2025 at the earliest.

X-Men 97 season 2 cast: confirmed and rumored

Full spoilers follow for X-Men 97 season 1.

Here's who we expect to see again in X-Men 97 season 2:

• Ray Chase as Scott Summers/Cyclops
• Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey
• Alison Sealy-Smith as Ororo Munroe/Storm
• Cal Dodd as James 'Logan' Howlett/Wolverine
• J.P. Karliak as Morph
• Lenore Zann as Rogue
• George Buza as Doctor Henry 'Hank' McCoy/The Beast
• Holly Chou as Jubilee
• Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop
• Matthew Waterson as Erik 'Magnus' Lehnsherr/Magneto
• Ross Marquand as Professor Charles Xavier
• Adrian Hough as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler
• Gui Augustini as Roberto da Costa/Sunspot
• Chris Potter as Nathan Summers/Cable
• Gil Birmingham as Forge

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 re-enter the recording booth as En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse across X-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 to X-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 story speculation

Major story spoilers follow for X-Men 97 season 1.

Marvel hasn't detailed what we can expect from X-Men 97 season 2, but there's plenty we can infer about its plot direction, given what happened in the season 1 finale. Before reading on, you'll want to read our X-Men 97 season 1 ending explained article to see what its 10th and final episode – 'Tolerance Is Extinction Part 3' – sets up for the show's next installment.

All caught up? Splendid. Now you know that X-Men 97 season 2 will, in its early episodes at the very 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 the future, 3980 A.D.

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, Magneto, Beast, Rogue, and Nightcrawler being sent back in time. They help to thwart a gang attack on an Egyptian town, which is where they're introduced to – or, rather, reunited with – En Sabah Nur.

Why "reunited"? Because the super group battled Apocalypse in X:TAS. The fact that some of them 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, 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) seems to be moving away from Kang as the Multiverse Saga's new Thanos-level threat following Marvel's firing of Kang actor Jonathan Majors. Indeed, rumors abound that Marvel might be done with the villain in a live-action capacity altogether, so X-Men 97 season 2 might be the only project we see him in moving forward.

As for Scott Summers/Cyclops and Jean Grey, they were sent forward in time and meet 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. Now, Scott has 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, mind you. Without spoiling too much, they're tied to another individual living in the future – 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 that 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.

Meanwhile, in the present, it seems we might see the formation of an X-Men offshoot – X-Force – in season 2. 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. Hey, the third rock from the Sun needs some protection in the X-Men's absence. 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 in season 2. 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 now on, but we'll refrain from spoiling anything 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-revealed fallout from 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 the major Marvel villain introduced in season 1 episode 7.

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

No and it'll be a while before Marvel and Disney release one. We'll update this section when one is.

Is X-Men 97 season 3 going to happen?

It certainly seems that way, although Marvel hasn't confirmed whether X-Men 97 season 2 will get a follow-up.

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.

So, what are the chances of X-Men 97 season 3 seeing the light of day? Very good, in our opinion. Currently, it holds 100% critical and 94% audience approval ratings on Rotten Tomatoes – scores that make it one of the most highly-rated MCU TV shows (if not the most highly-rated show) of all time. Season 1 proved incredibly popular, with each episode generating tons of online traffic and fan discussions about its soap opera-style and character-driven narratives. Buoyed by that success, Marvel and Disney would be silly not to order another season, if not renew it for even more entries, of X-Men 97. Here's hoping they do, so we can hum along to its iconic theme tune on Tuesday evenings/Wednesday mornings (depending on where you live) in the not-too-distant future.

For more Marvel-based coverage, read our guides on how to watch the Marvel movies in order and how to watch the X-Men movies in order. Alternatively, find out what we know about Deadpool and Wolverine, or see if you agree with our ranking of the best Marvel movies.