The X-Men ‘97 Season 1 finale, Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3, featured several pivotal scenes, from the battle against Bastion to setting up the stage for Season 2. However, if there’s one scene that leaves a mark in the minds of many, it’s when Professor X enters Magneto’s mind to convince him to undo the damage caused by his EMP attack. But before this scene appeared on the small screen, voice actors Ross Marquand (Charles Xavier/Professor X) and Matthew Waterson (Magneto) revealed the changes it underwent.
Marquand and Waterson graced a panel at the 2024 Nashville Comicon hosted by Comicbook Men’s Ming Chen and were asked about their favorite scene or line from X-Men ‘97 Season 1. Speaking to ComicBook, Marquand revealed they loved the scene where Professor X went inside Magneto’s mind in the dream state.
“There's a whole sequence in the finale where we're literally inside Magneto's head,” Marquand continued. “I loved it because we did so many different versions of that scene, had to constantly retool it.”
Marquand admitted that he was upset with Magneto after what he did to Logan in the first season’s penultimate episode, Tolerance is Extinction - Part 2. Hence, he laid it into him, but the scene was continuously retooled. Despite the number of changes that it went through, Marquand still loved it as it helped them find the “beautiful beats and moments.”
“And the vulnerability that [Waterson] shows when he forgets himself,” he added. “He's like, 'You hurt me. I don't remember you.' It's so beautiful to watch that scene unfold because we worked on that for months.”
Alternatively, Waterson revealed that Professor X and Magneto’s scene had many different iterations. They recorded several things that ended up being cut because they weren’t needed in the way they wanted them to. Lines were flipped and exchanged after noticing that Marquand delivered his lines best.
“There were lines that [Marquand] was given that I had, which were much better coming from [Marquand],” Waterson explained. “Like, 'There's an importance in resemblance.' At one point Erik said that line, but it makes a lot more sense with Charles trying to pull him back, for Charles to recognize that.”
Will there be X-Men ‘97 Season 2?
X-Men ‘97 was renewed for a second season long before the first season premiered. That said, X-Men '97 Season 2 has been in the works, and Marvel Studios' head of streaming, television, and animation, Brad Winderbaum, earlier said it’s now in the animatic phase. But though it’s already in the animation stage, it will still take a while before new episodes come out due to the work that comes with it.
On the other hand, director Jake Castorena likened the second season’s production to “baking a cake.” With the first season's success, the creative team doesn’t want to ruin the show’s return by rushing things out. So, like baking a cake, they take their time to create it, with Castorena adding it’s “well underway and being made.”
The stars and staff of X-Men ‘97 did their best to deliver a stunning first season that received critical acclaim. Hopefully, this will continue when X-Men ‘97 Season 2 finally releases.
All episodes of X-Men ‘97 Season 1 are available to stream on Disney+.
