Published Jun 17, 2026, 12:02 PM EDT
Kyle is a senior writer at ScreenRant and has been part of the team for over two years. Having led coverage on The Walking Dead projects alongside Rick & Morty, Kyle is well versed in numerous genres.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Kyle is a passionate journalist who has a keen interest in TV and film. He has six years of experience studying journalism including a HND in Practical Journalism and a BA Honours in Journalism, Media and Communication and History. Alongside his love for TV and film, Kyle enjoys video games, football and Formula 1.
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X-Men’s recent resurgence has been a real treat to witness these past few years, and Marvel Studios’ next project with these heroes will be a movie-length event that is bound to be one of their best outings yet. After its incredible first season, X-Men ‘97 will return for its second season at the start of July, and it won’t be a short premiere.
According to What’s On Disney Plus, X-Men ‘97 season 2 will have a three-episode premiere, indicating that it may feel more like a mini movie, rather than a typical televised opening. There was already plenty to look forward to regarding this beloved series hitting our screens again, but this news only makes the upcoming release more exciting.
With more projects in the works, 2026 looks like the year of the X-Men, and the impending return will be the start of this new era for the franchise. There’s still time to binge season 1 for those who haven’t seen it, but for anyone up-to-date, strap in on July 1, as the explosive premiere is gearing up to be truly epic.
In a time when the MCU has been struggling a little, X-Men ‘97 has emerged as one of Marvel’s strongest creations, making season 2 highly anticipated. The first installment completely exceeded expectations, successfully capturing the charm and characterization of the classic 90s series while tweaking it to fit a modern audience.
The storytelling is much grittier, and you’ll have a hard time finding many other animated shows with such high-quality visuals. The Disney+ hit has already introduced plenty of major characters and explored them in depth, but there will undoubtedly be plenty of other iconic heroes and villains in X-Men ‘97 season 2, adding to the project’s hype.
In addition, the upcoming season has a 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning those who have already seen it were all in agreement that it was exceptional. The plot looks like it will expand on the first outing and become increasingly intense, especially given that the previous deaths are still weighing heavily on some protagonists.
Knowing the series has a different tone and atmosphere from most other Marvel projects makes it stand out that little bit more, and the bar was raised extremely high with the debut season. As a result, fans simply can’t get enough of X-Men ‘97, hence why its return is making so much noise. Having been off screens for over two years, this next chapter has undoubtedly been a long time coming, and it won’t be the last big impact the X-Men have on Marvel throughout 2026.
Although they’ve yet to have an official movie, the X-Men have appeared throughout the MCU sporadically, with Deadpool & Wolverine, The Marvels, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness all featuring some variation of these heroes. However, Avengers: Doomsday will grant them their first major role as a team in this multi-billion-dollar franchise.
Many actors from the older films will reprise their roles, making the first Avengers movie since Endgame that little bit more special. It was already set to be huge given that Steve Rogers will return, and Robert Downey Jr. is also set to play Doctor Doom, but the X-Men’s involvement cements it as a must-see cinematic adventure.
Considering there hasn’t been a particularly strong overarching story heading into December’s blockbuster, it makes it harder to predict how they’ll appear and under what circumstances. Thankfully, though, X-Men ‘97 gives viewers a chance to become invested in these characters ahead of their Doomsday appearance, which should really put the X-Men back on the map.
Judging by the snippet we saw of Cyclops in Avengers: Doomsday, the group’s battle will almost certainly feature high stakes and tremendous loss, ensuring X-Men fans won’t want to miss their first live-action outing in several years. Until then, X-Men ‘97 season 2 acts as a tremendous warm-up, and regardless of which project winds up being better, the next six months are an incredibly exciting time for the classic superhero team.
Source: What’s On Disney Plus
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