X-Men '97 season 2 release date, plot, cast, and everything else you need to know about the animated Marvel series

Get ready Marvel fans, because X-Men '97 season 2 is coming to our screens later this year, which means it's probably about time to get that iconic title theme stuck in your head again. If it hasn't lived rent-free in your head for months already, that is.

Excitingly, we already have glimpsed the season's first trailer behind closed doors, which gave us our first look at supervillain Apocalypse. More on our impressions below.

So what are you waiting for? Scroll down for everything we know about X-Men '97 season 2 release date speculation, plot theories, confirmed voice cast, first-look images, and more. But be warned, there are some season 1 spoilers ahead. For more, check out our guide on how to watch X-Men in order, plus all the latest on Daredevil: Born Again season 2.

X-Men '97 season 2 release date

Although Marvel has still not given us an exact release date, during the Marvel panel at New York Comic Con, it was announced that X-Men '97 will release in Summer 2026.

Thanks to Marvel's head of streaming, television, and animation, Brad Winderbaum, we already knew that season 2 would release in 2026, which is a little later than we anticipated, considering season 2 has been in production for months. But hey, good things come to those who wait.

We'll keep you updated as soon as more concrete information comes our way. In the meantime, you can check out our handy guide on how to watch all the X-Men movies in order if you're after a quick mutant fix.

Is there an X-Men '97 season 2 trailer?

The first trailer for X-Men '97 season 2 was shown behind closed doors at New York Comic Con, and is not yet available online. Luckily for you, GamesRadar+ was in attendance.

From the first trailer, we know that season 2 will continue the story from season 1. X-Men's mutant cyborg Bishop is seen bringing X-Men Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Jubilee, and Nightcrawler back to the '90s after they traveled to a distant future in season 1. Oh, and we also got to see Wolverine in his classic Brown-Ochre suit, from the Marvel comic book series Uncanny X-Men.

However, the most exciting part of the clip is the introduction of X-Men baddie Apocalypse in his comic-book accurate purple get-up. We did get a sneak peek at the villain in season 1; however, it looks like Apocalypse will play a larger role in the upcoming installment. Discussing Film later posted the first look at Apocalypse in season 2 from the panel, which you can see below.

X-Men '97 season 2 plot

Let's recap X-Men '97 episode 10, shall we? After the UN fires their "Magneto protocol," it backfired majorly and threatened to send Asteroid M to Earth. Professor X is able to fix Magneto's psyche and guide him back to his body, which allows him to save the world from Asteroid M, but it throws Rogue, Storm, Xavier, Logan, Beast, Nightcrawler, and Magneto into Egypt circa 3000 BC.

Jean and Scott end up somewhere in the Future, circa 3960 AD, with a teenaged, pre-Cable version of their son Nathan and a woman named Mother Askani (who is Rachel Summers, their time-lost daughter, in the comics). We then fast-forward six months to find that Forge is 'the last X-Man' left on Earth.

Jubilee, Sunspot, and Cable, though having survived the Blip-like ending, are marked "AWOL." Bishop, however, returns from his episode 2 stint in the future to help Forge 'rebuild' the X-Men. A post-credits scene takes us to Present Day Genosha, where a big bad named Apocalypse lifts Gambit's playing card out of the dirt.

This is ominous for two reasons: Before the credits roll, Bishop remarks, "This ain't our first time at the 'The X-Men are dead rodeo,'" and a man named En Sabah Nur introduces himself to the X-Men trapped in Egypt BC. Well, folks, En Sabah Nur is the mutant warrior known as Apocalypse, who is also the leader of the Four Horsemen, which is a group that Gambit becomes part of in the comics.

In terms of plotlines for season 2, Jake Castorena, supervising producer and head director of X-Men '97, had this to say to Entertainment Weekly: "Oh, did something happen with Gambit in the comics? Oh, that's cool." In reference to the post-credits scene, he also said that "Everything is meticulously planned."

Executive producer Brad Winderbaum has also stated that season 2 will have some new superhero teams. "There's many teams, in Marvel, that have the letter 'X' that are followed by a hyphen. I would put it to you like this… there's two other X teams in season 2," he explained.

Of course, we can also count on season 2 of the upcoming Marvel show to pick up where the season 1 finale leaves off. It's likely that our beloved Gambit will return from the dead but in a scary zombie villain format. One of the plotlines will likely draw from the 1994 comic miniseries The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, seeing as it follows Scott and Jean in the future with Nathan, Mother Askani, and Apocalypse in tow.

Don't expect X-Men '97 season 2 to pull any punches either. Professor X actor Ross Marquand was shocked at the body count for the new season, telling Collider he was "amazed Disney greenlit it because it's so dark. It's very, very dark. A lot of people die, and so many people don't talk about it. Just being honest."

It's also known that series creator and former showrunner Beau DeMayo wrote part of season 2 before being let go by Disney. "I did write a lot of Season 2," DeMayo tweeted. "However, unlike Season 1, I will not be heavily involved or leading production, cast records, design, editorial, post, music, etc., nor doing any production rewrites as it relates to the creative vision of the show."

Head of Marvel Animation Brad Winderbaum told EW that the team "will have a new head writer for season 3," but notes that they "are honoring Beau's ideas for the second season."

X-Men '97 season 2 cast

There hasn't been any casting news as of yet, but we can assume new additions to the cast will be announced as we get closer and closer to season 2. The original voice actors from X-Men: The Animated Series make up a good percentage of the season 1 cast, though some of them are voicing different characters than they did in the original show.

Still, we put together our best guess as to who will return for season 2, including the core cast and the new voice actors introduced in the season finale.

• Ray Chase – Scott Summers / Cyclops
• Jennifer Hale – Jean Grey / Phoenix
• Allison Sealy-Smith – Ororo Munroe / Storm
• Cal Dodd – Logan / Wolverine
• J.P. Karliak – Morph
• Lenore Zann – Rogue
• George Buza – Beast
• A.J. LoCascio – Remy LeBeau / Gambit
• Holly Chou – Jubilee
• Isaac Robinson-Smith – Bishop
• Matthew Waterson – Magneto
• Ross Marquand – Professor Charles Xavier
• Adrian Hough – Nightcrawler
• Gui Agustini – Roberto da Costa
• Chris Potter – Nathan Summers / Cable
• Adetokumbosh M'Cormack – En Sabah Nur / Apocalypse
• Gates McFadden – Rachel Summers / Mother Askani

X-Men '97 is streaming now on Disney Plus. For more, check out our guide on how to watch all the Marvel movies in order. Or, you can take a look at our list of the best X-Men comics of all time.