After ever-diminishing returns for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, and Madame Web (it’s Sony, but general audiences will lump it in), it’s clear what cinemagoers have got to say: let us breathe for a moment, Marvel! Although people still love much of what the MCU has to offer — just look at the hype surrounding Deadpool & Wolverine — clearly the whole cinematic universe carrot just ain’t getting ’em moving like it used to.
Whereas folks would flock to every new Marvel Studios release simply to see Samuel L. Jackson turn up in a post-credits scene, now staying up to date with every new movie and show feels like homework you have to pay for. Marvel itself is even becoming aware of this. Just see the recent launch of the Marvel Spotlight banner, pioneered on Echo, which is basically a way for them to say, “Hey, you don’t need to have seen that other thing that just came out to watch this.” And yet it’s the next Disney Plus series out the door that’s going even further: by ditching the MCU canon altogether.
X-Men ’97‘s groundbreaking canon status could indicate a change for the better
X-Men ’97 just caught the attention of the internet with the release of its first-look trailer during Valentine’s Day week, which hit ’90s Marvel kids right in the nostalgia with its promise of a direct sequel series to X-Men: The Animated Series. This show is another project to sport a unique banner, as it launched the Marvel Animation label. This was curious, as we’ve already had two seasons apiece of What If…? and I Am Groot, and they still got the Marvel Studios branding.
The real reason for this has now been revealed, however, thanks to a mind-blowing yet brief comment from showrunner Beau DeMayo. Answering a fan’s question about whether X-Men ’97 is set in the MCU, the EP appeared to deny any crossover connections, sharing that “We are our own thing” during an Instagram Q&A. In just five words, DeMayo has confirmed the end of an unparalleled streak of 33 films and 10 TV shows across 6 years.
Yes, for the very first time, Marvel Studios is releasing something that has no ties to the MCU. Obviously, thanks to this being the Multiverse Saga, we know it’s all connected, but it’s still a huge deal that the studio is stepping outside of its expansive, all-consuming continuity at long last. What was once Marvel’s super-powerful USP has lately felt like an albatross around its neck. Note how Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, very much occupying its own corner of the franchise, was easily the most successful MCU film of 2023.
The word is still out on whether X-Men ’97 will be a hit, but early metrics look good. The Hollywood Reporter, in a piece investigating how Marvel is repairing itself after its terrible 2023, revealed that the ’97 trailer is the most successful lunch of a Disney Plus animated series ever, beating What If…? and any Star Wars cartoon. If the X-Men show is a streaming smash then it could be the beginning of a world where the MCU might just ultimately cease to be the MCU. And, honestly, maybe that’s the grand plan to save the Marvel multiverse the studio needs right now.