What If…? executive producer Bryan Andrews recently recalled how Marvel Studios’ top brass vetoed plans to include the X-Men in the Disney+ series.
A notable feature of the 18 episodes of What If…? aired to date is their sprawling roster, which hails from across the wider MCU. This is especially true of Season 2, which had the freedom to pull heroes and villains fromPhase Four onward.
But, according to Andrews, Marvel Studios stillput limitson the creative team’s access to characters in the second season – even ruling out the X-Men entirely.
Why Marvel Studios blocked X-Men in What If…?
Andrews explained the X-Men’s absence from What If…? Season 2 in a recent interview withComicBook.com. In short: Marvel Studios prioritizes live-action over animation.
“[The X-Men] were pretty much off the table,” he said. “[Marvel Studios were] like, ‘We’ve got to do it first in live-action and then you get to do it.’ And we’re like, ‘Ah, man!’ We would’ve loved to have played with all kinds of toys. But there’s limitations.”
Disney+ miniseries Ms. Marvel introduced the mutant concept to MCU – a revelation accompanied by the classic X-Men: The Animated Series theme tune. What’s more, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness featured an alternate universe version of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, while The Marvels’mid-credits sceneincluded a cameo by Kelsey Grammer’s Beast.
X-Men ’97 will pick up where its predecessor left off, with reformed supervillain Magneto taking over from Professor X as the team’s mentor. The revival will alsointroduce at least two new characters, if Hasbro’s Marvel Legends action figure line is any indication.
Leon is a freelance Movies and TV writer at Dexerto. His past writing credits include articles for Polygon, Popverse, The Escapist, Screen Rant, CBR, Cultured Vultures, PanelxPanel, Taste of Cinema, and more. Originally from Australia, Leon is currently based in the UK.
