A fan on Reddit suggests that the upcoming animated series “X-Men 97”, which will be released on Disney+ next year, should be released on Saturday morning. X-Men ’97 will be the first official use of X-Men property by Marvel Studios since the acquisition of X-Men as part of Disney’s deal with 20th Century Fox in 2019. Although Fox used the X-Men, the ownership spanned 13 films and included iconic images such as Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, the franchise officially ended with 2019’s Dark Phoenix.
While plans for live performances to fight Charles Xavier’s mutant gang have not yet been set in stone, Marvel announced “X-Men ’97” in 2021 as an animated series designed not only to pay homage to the classic “X-Men: Animation” of the 90s. The series, but to attract new MCU fans to learn about the mutant characters before they debut in a proper MCU. Recently, the MCU has relied on nostalgia for the X-Men animated series several times, which used the main musical theme of X-Men: The Animated Series not only to provide fanfare for Professor X’s MCU debut in Doctor Strange: The Multiverse of Madness, but also to help point out the true source of Kamala’s powers Khan is in the finale of “Miss Marvel”. Fans who grew up on “X-Men: The Animated Series” appreciate these references, but are now asking Marvel to take the next step.
In a post on Reddit, user brohamianrhapsody detailed the idea that to pay homage to the original Saturday morning of the original X-Men: The Animated Series, Disney+ should premiere episodes on Saturday morning. The fan explained that this release method “will bring back some nostalgia by simply changing the release schedule on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.”
This type of nostalgia that this fan hopes Marvel will capitalize on is a particular nostalgia for Saturday morning cartoons that, while inevitable in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, seemed to disappear with the advent of streaming and cable channels. These Saturday morning cartoon blocks, including Fox Kids, are where many young fans first learned about the X—Men, Spider-Man and the wider Marvel universe. Nostalgia for Saturday morning cartoons can still be seen in the modern cinema climate: adaptations of “Masters of the Universe” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” are in the works, as well as the recently released film “Chip and Dale: Rescuers”, released on Disney+, both paid. tribute and ridicule of the animated series genre.
All this, including the central post on Reddit, should serve as a signal for Marvel Studios to accept fans for the offer to release “X-Men 97” on Saturday morning. Kevin Feige has made clear his intentions to expand the company’s animation division, including future seasons of Marvel’s “What If…?” as well as the upcoming “Spider-Man: The Year of the Freshman,” which wants to evoke similar Saturday morning nostalgia for fans of the 90s Spider-Man: Animated Series. Feigi will be looking for models who will make these animated shows as successful as other MCU Disney+ shows such as WandaVision and Loki. If viewers like the possibility of a new Saturday morning animated series like X-Men ’97, Feigi might just have to give them what they want.
