The X-Men Project “Nobody Wanted” Was Almost Cancelled Before It Started [Exclusive]

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Published Aug 31, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT

There are plenty of X-Men and X-Men-adjacent projects coming out now or in the next year, but the one that has everyone talking is X-Men ‘97, which recently wrapped up its second season on Disney+. The X-Men are also set to return in live-action later this year in Avengers: Doomsday, and Marvel Studios is actively developing a new X-Men reboot film starring Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and a host of other stars like Adam Driver and Inde Navarette. Insomniac Games is even dropping a new Wolverine game in just two weeks’ time, and although the X-Men aren’t yet formed in that universe, it will feature other iconic mutant characters like Jean Grey, Sabertooth, and even Mystique.

Mystique is also set to be prominently featured in X-Men ‘97 Season 3 after she returned in the Season 2 finale, with original voice actor Randall Carpenter even returning to reprise the role. Carpenter voiced the character in the 1990 original show, X-Men: The Animated Series, which also acts as a prequel of sorts to the new Marvel animated show on Disney+. While the shows are directly connected, *X-Men ‘97 *is accessible enough that even fans who haven’t watched the original series can jump in and enjoy the new show without having too many questions.

Collider’s Maggie Lovitt recently moderated a panel at FAN EXPO Canada for some cast members and creatives from X-Men: The Animated Series, including producer Larry Houston as well as stars like Carpenter (Mystique), Cedric Smith (Professor X), George Buza (Beast), and even Chris Potter (Gambit). During an early part of the panel when panelists were sharing their original exposure to the X-Men, Larry Houston revealed that X-Men: The Animated Series almost never made it off the ground due to poor casting:

“When we were first casting the original X-Men back in the ’90s, there was an early recording of the show that just didn’t work, so we had to scrap it and go back and recast. We didn’t want cartoon voices — like Scooby-Doo, that kind of thing. We wanted actors with real range, who had theatrical training, who could bring depth to their voice. That was our criteria, and it’s how we got this amazing cast — they brought the characters to life. Storm, Gambit, Mystique, everybody.”

Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.

You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.

You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.

Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.

You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.

Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.

You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.

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