Is ‘X-Men’ getting a reboot? Marvel Television boss shares exciting update as 'X-Men '97' franchise expands
Marvel Studios has great plans for the 'X-Men' after it regained control of the film and television rights to the 'X-Men' franchise following Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019. The company has already greenlit a reboot of the 'X-Men' franchise, which is currently in development. An animated series titled 'X-Men '97' debuted in 2024 on Disney+ to great acclaim, and marked the first 'X-Men' project produced under the Marvel Studios banner since the 1990s. Brad Winderbaum, head of Marvel Television, spoke to ScreenRant about the future of the animated series 'X-Men '97,' which is set to premiere Season 2 on July 1.
The creative team has reportedly already mapped out the series until Season 4, which Winderbaum confirmed, "It's true, we're well into development on Season 4. I've read scripts, I believe, for half the season. It's remarkably awesome, and I've seen [the] animatics. I think we've locked our animatics for season 3 entirely now, and I'm starting to see animation in the next couple weeks." The animated series, which debuted on Disney+ on March 20, 2024, is a revival of the 1990s series and continues its story. When Crowley asked about the potential for Season 5, the Marvel head said he's on board, "I hope it runs at least 5 seasons, because that's as many seasons as the original series, so that would be really, that'd be really nice."
Winderbaum pointed out that the various iterations of the Spider-Man universe coexist; he felt the same could also be done with the X-Men. "Yeah, I think the two things can definitely run simultaneously. Look how many Spider-Man things there are. There's 'Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,' the 'Spider-Verse' movies, the live-action movies, and the preschool show. X-Men could definitely do the same thing. I'm not sure it has a preschool show, but certainly 'X-Men '97' can run simultaneously with live-action."
The untitled X-Men reboot film is currently in development at Marvel Studios. Jake Schreier, who directed 'Thunderbolts*', will direct it. Kevin Feige, the head of Marvel Studios, confirmed in July 2025 that Schreier's work on 'Thunderbolts*' helped him land the coveted reboot film. The upcoming MCU movie is expected to introduce a new iteration of the X-Men, with the screenplay written by Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo. In April, Schreier stated that he wanted to explore a different side of the iconic Marvel team. He said, "I think really just what we've been talking about more than anything is how do we make it feel new, and how do we go places that feel like we're succeeding [our predecessors]? Obviously, this series has done such incredible things and succeeded in so many ways, and done so many beautiful things. Like, what are some places we can go, and some areas of the lore that we can explore where it feels like we're taking people to a new place?"
