- Set to land on Disney+ in mid-2026
- No trailer released yet
- Main cast all expected to return
- Should pick up after last season's finale
- Scripts completed before former showrunner Beau DeMayo's departure
- Comic books provide clues about story's direction
- Season 3 already in development
- More installments have been discussed
The countdown to X-Men 97 season 2 is well and truly on. With the critically-acclaimed Marvel TV show set to return in mid-2026, it won't be long until we hear Cyclops bellow "To me, my X-Men!" once more.
Ahead of the popular animated series' return, you've got plenty to read about X-Men 97's sophomore season. Below, I've rounded up the biggest and latest news on the Disney+ TV Original, including its confirmed cast, plot details, and its future.
So, throw on your favorite X-Men cosplay, fire up the Blackbird, and let's dive in together.
X-Men 97 season 2 release window
Just announced at #NYCC: Marvel Animation's #XMen97 Season 2 is coming to @DisneyPlus Summer 2026! pic.twitter.com/ulilHWaiFeOctober 11, 2025
X-Men 97 season 2 doesn't have an official launch date. However, at New York Comic-Con (NYCC) 2025, Marvel announced it would debut on Disney+, aka one of the world's best streaming services, in mid-2026.
That's not a great surprise. With Wonder Man's release being pushed back to January 2026 and Daredevil: Born Again season 2 confirmed to arrive next March, an early 2026 launch for the X-Men's latest animated show was never on the cards. Nevertheless, at least we know X-Men 97 will return between June and August.
My prediction? A June 2026 launch is the most likely scenario. Daredevil: Born Again's second season will likely end in mid-May and, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day out in theaters in late July, sandwiching X-Men 97 season 2 between the aforementioned pair would make the most sense.
X-Men 97 season 2 trailer: is there one?
No. One was revealed exclusively to NYCC 2025 attendees, but hasn't been released online yet. Once it is, I'll update this section.
X-Men 97 season 2 cast: confirmed and rumored
Full spoilers follow for X-Men 97 season 1.
Here's who I expect to see again in X-Men 97 season 2:
- Ray Chase as Scott Summers/Cyclops
- Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey
- Alison Sealy-Smith as Ororo Munroe/Storm
- Cal Dodd as James 'Logan' Howlett/Wolverine
- J.P. Karliak as Morph
- Lenore Zann as Rogue
- George Buza as Doctor Henry 'Hank' McCoy/The Beast
- Holly Chou as Jubilee
- Isaac Robinson-Smith as Bishop
- Matthew Waterson as Erik 'Magnus' Lehnsherr/Magneto
- Ross Marquand as Professor Charles Xavier and En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse
- Adrian Hough as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler
- Gui Augustini as Roberto da Costa/Sunspot
- Chris Potter as Nathan Summers/Cable
- Gil Birmingham as Forge
There are bound to be other returning faces (or, rather, voices) in season 2. Catherine Disher should be back as U.N. official and mutant sympathizer Doctor Valerie Cooper, as should Rob Rubin as U.S. President Robert Kelly and Martha Marion as Emma Frost.
Meanwhile, Adetokumboh M'Cormack is likely to return as En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse across X-Men 97's three timelines (more on the show's time-traveling storylines later). Gates McFadden is another I'd expect to be back as Mother Askani, who's tied to X-Men 97's far-flung future narrative.
Lastly, I expect A.J. LoCascio to voice Remy LeBeau/Gambit again. That's based on En Sabah Nur resurrecting the deceased mutant as one of his Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in last season's finale.
X-Men 97 season 2 stuff included Polaris, Bishop, Apocalypse, Danger, and so much more. Sizzle we saw was 🔥🔥🔥🔥 covering so much.August 10, 2024
We'll also see some new faces in X-Men 97 season 2. At D23 Expo 2024, Magneto's daughter Polaris – real name Lorna Dane – was confirmed as part of the cast (via Discussing Film). According to former showrunner Beau DeMayo, Polaris will be voiced by Scream icon Neve Campbell.
There were contrasting reports about another character debut, too, with some outlets (including Discussing Film and Screen Time) claiming we'll see Danger, the physical manifestation of the supergroup's Danger Room training program, appear in season 2. However, other websites (such as The DisInsider) claimed Danger was incorrectly identified as Warlock, a techno-organic being from the alien planet Kvch. Ex-showrunner Beau DeMayo, who penned season 2's scripts, has since clarified (per X/Twitter) that this character is Danger.
While it's incredibly unlikely that Cassandra Nova will appear in X-Men 97 season 2, Emma Corrin, who played the character in Deadpool and Wolverine, told TechRadar they'd "love to" voice Nova in a future season, too. We're manifesting a post-credits scene where Nova is teased ahead of the show's third season.
X-Men 97 season 2 story speculation
Full spoilers follow for X-Men 97 season 1.
X-Men 97 season 2's plot brief hasn't been revealed, but there's plenty we can infer about it, given what happened in the season 1 finale. Before you proceed, read my X-Men 97 season 1 ending explained article to see how it sets up for the show's next installment.
In its early episodes at least, X-Men 97 season 2 will be set across three timelines: the present (1997 in-universe), almost three millennia in the past (3000 B.C. in Ancient Egypt), and 3980 A.D, i.e. the far flung future.
Let's start with those who are seemingly trapped in the past. As the season 1 finale revealed, Professor X, Beast, Rogue, Magneto, and Nightcrawler were sent back in time. Once there, they help thwart a gang attack on an Egyptian town, which is where they're introduced to/reunited with En Sabah Nur.
Why "reunited"? Because the super group battled Apocalypse in X-Men :The Animated Series (X: TAS), aka the series that X-Men 97 follows on from.
The fact that they cross paths with him again, albeit in his pre-Apocalypse form, is fascinating. This reveal suggests they'll have to work with Nur to stop a greater threat (more on this shortly) and potentially have the chance to help Nur walk a more righteous path, thereby stopping him from becoming Apocalypse. Well, unless his evolution into Apocalypse is one of those fixed points on the Marvel timeline that can't be altered.
It'll be interesting to see if the aforementioned quintet gets involved in Nur's ongoing war with his rival, too, who's none other than Kang the Conqueror – albeit in one of his many guises as Egyptian Pharaoh Rama-Tut.
Given that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has moved from Kang after Marvel fired Kang actor Jonathan Majors in December 2023, X-Men 97 season 2 might be the last time we see Kang (or one of his aliases) in any Marvel project for a long time. Either way, Marvel's Head of TV, Animation, and Streaming Brad Winderbaum told Entertainment Weekly (EW) that "Apocalypse is a big part of season 2", so we'll see plenty of him next time.
The X-Men will wear Grant Morrison suits in ‘X-MEN 97’ Season 2. pic.twitter.com/yckXUCao58August 10, 2024
As for Scott Summers/Cyclops and Jean Grey, they were sent forward in time and met a child version of Nathan Summers, i.e. the son of Scott and Madelyne Pryor who goes on to become the time-traveling mutant known as Cable. This reunion gives Scott the chance to be there for his son – remember, in season 1 episode 3, Mr. Sinister infected Nathan with a techno-virus when Nathan was a baby. To save Nathan's life, Scott handed him over to Bishop, who took Nathan into the far future to find a cure, so Scott missed out on raising his son. Having been sent into the future, Scott can make up for lost time.
That's not the only issue the Summers family will have to deal with. Without spoiling too much, they're tied to another future-dwelling individual – Mother Askani, who leads the tribe Nathan is a part of. For now, let's just say things are going to get even more complicated for Scott and Jean – and that's before they realize the Askani clan will need their help in defeating Apocalypse, who's still alive at this point in time and lauding it over a post-apocalyptic Earth.
We just saw Magneto in court in an extended first look of X-Men '97 Season 2. #D23August 10, 2024
In the present, we may see the formation of an X-Men offshoot called X-Force. Indeed, Cable might lead a group comprising Forge, Jubilee, Sunspot, and other mutants in temporarily defending Earth from extraterrestrial threats, as well as those planetside. Alternatively, Bishop – who's traveled back to the present using his time-travel device – might enlist the remaining X-Men's help in rescuing their fellow mutants from the past and future.
There are other plot threads that need to be picked up and/or resolved, too. We don't know where Morph, Storm, and Wolverine are following the destruction of Asteroid M. Where Wolverine is concerned, we'll also need to see how he deals with the psychological impact of having the adamantium stripped from his body by Magneto in season 1 episode 9. Comic book readers know what's in store for Logan, but I'll refrain from spoiling anything significant here.
Elsewhere, the burgeoning civil war that threatens the Shi'ar Empire could impact the X-Men and the wider animated Marvel universe. There's also the small (I use that term lightly) matter of the as-yet-to-be-revealed fallout from Xavier and Magneto's mind-based tête-à-tête that played out in the season 1 finale. Again, no spoilers, but long-time X-Men fans know that something sinister might be born out of this subplot.
All of the above, then, points towards more melodrama and tragedies that'll befall the titular team. Ross Marquand, who'll voice Apocalypse as well as Charles Xavier this season, told Collider he was "amazed Disney greenlit it because it’s so dark. It’s very, very dark. A lot of people die."
But it won't be a wholly solemn affair. Chatting to Collider, Winderbaum teased there'll be plenty of "romance to go around", including the return of the divisive Magneto-Rogue dalliance. In short: expect lots more soap opera elements in season 2.
Has X-Men 97 season 3 been greenlit yet?
Yes! At NYCC 2025 (per Variety), it was announced that X-Men 97 had been renewed for season 3. That confirmation comes months after Deadline claimed What If...? writer Matthew Chauncey had been installed as its new showrunner, so a third season was always likely to happen.
There could be more to come from one of the best Disney+ shows, too. In conversation with Collider, Winderbaum said: "There is definitely, more than possibly, more to come from X-Men 97. We’re talking about Seasons 4 and 5 now". If you're hungry for more mutant mayhem, then, it sounds like you're in luck!
For more Marvel-based coverage, find out how to watch the Marvel movies in order and how to watch the X-Men movies in order. Alternatively, read my guide on Wonder Man and guide on Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
