X-Men '97 Star May Have Spoiled One Character's Surprising Return

We're nearing the end of the first season of X-Men '97, after the Marvel Animation series has tackled quite a lot so far. The midpoint of the season surprised viewers by bringing about the mutant massacre on Genosha, which led to the apparent end of quite a few characters. This includes Remy Lebeau / Gambit (A.J. LoCascio), who is supposedly deceased after a violent fight against the newest Master Mold. During a panel appearance at Fan Expo Calgary (via CBR), original Gambit voice actor Chris Potter indicated that Nathaniel Summers / Cable (who he also voices in X-Men '97) and his future technology might be the very thing that can help resurrect Gambit.

"They told me I'd be playing a new character," Potter explained. "I said, 'What do you mean? I'm Gambit.' They said, 'Not anymore, we're killing him off in episode 3. You're going to be Cable now.' Now, as it turns out, Cable is the only one who can bring Gambit back."

Did Gambit Die in X-Men '97?

In a recent interview with ComicBook.com's Phase Zero podcast, X-Men '97 director Jake Castorena revealed that the crew went back and forth over whether or not to make Gambit one of the casualties in the Genosha massacre. While Gambit's funeral was held in the series' seventh episode, "Bright Eyes", it will remain to be seen if and how he is resurrected.

"Was it always Gambit? Half," Castorena explained. "Magneto was always kind of like the staple. The other character, it wasn't initially Gambit. I dare not say who it was because it changed a few times. Because as you change script and story, and you push things based on what the story needed was. Who got the bucket, you know?"

"That's one of the things that really, genuinely, intrigued me about coming to this project. It was like, 'Oh, we're gonna take some swings, but it's all gonna be narratively-driven.' It's all gonna be pushing the narrative in a way that's gonna benefit, story and validating why we're making these changes. Not doing this stuff for the sake of shock value, but to genuinely challenge and push narrative forward."

Is X-Men '97 Renewed for Season 2?

Work has already begun on a sophomore season of X-Men '97, which was already renewed by Marvel Animation prior to the show's premiere.

"We're working on season two. But we haven't started yet. I know a little bit of the storylines and characters," co-composer Taylor Newton Stewart explained in a recent interview. "It's always upping the ante. I mean, it's pretty intense what happens. Yeah, immediately when I was told, I was just like, 'Oh my gosh, what's happening? This is incredible.' So, just as a fan alone, I am very excited."

What Is X-Men '97 About?

Marvel Animation's X-Men '97 revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.

The voice cast of X-Men '97 includes Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, JP Karliak as Morph, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, AJ LoCascio as Gambit, Holly Chou as Jubilee, Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, and Adrian Hough as Nightcrawler. Beau DeMayo served as head writer; episodes are directed by Jake Castorena, Chase Conley and Emi Yonemura, and the series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso and DeMayo.

New episodes of X-Men '97 debut on Wednesdays exclusively on Disney+. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.