‘X-Men ‘97’ EPS Share the One Piece of Advice Marvel Better Not Ignore for the MCU Reboot

Few franchises carry quite as much emotional weight for longtime comic fans as the X-Men, whose various screen adaptations have sparked passionate debate for decades. That legacy has only grown more complicated as Marvel Studios works to finally bring the mutants into the MCU proper, a project fans have been anticipating since Kevin Feige first hinted it was years away.

Much of that anticipation has intensified thanks to the runaway success of ‘X-Men ’97,’ the Disney+ animated revival that proved just how deeply audiences still connect with these characters when handled with care. With the live-action reboot now moving forward, with Samara Weaving, Sadie Sink, Kit Connor, Christopher Abbott, Inde Navarrette and Adam Driver reportedly among its cast, the pressure to get it right has never felt higher.

That’s exactly why the perspective of Eric Lewald carries so much weight right now. The original ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ writer and executive producer, who returned to consult on ‘X-Men ’97’ alongside his wife and fellow writer Julia Lewald, recently offered pointed advice for whoever is shaping Marvel’s live-action reboot, and it centers on one core storytelling principle.

“You want to challenge the characters, but you can’t change them,” Lewald said, per CinemaBlend. “You have to be true to them. That’s the core of all storytelling.”

Speaking further on the subject, Lewald elaborated on the temptation creative teams often face when handed beloved intellectual property. “Sometimes if you’re in a creative position, you want to leave your mark and say, ‘Sherlock Holmes isn’t smart anymore,’ or whatever change you want to do with the characters. But you have to know, people have lived with them. They watched with their parents, and now they’re watching with their children.”

Julia Lewald echoed a similar sentiment, emphasizing that the franchise’s staying power has always come down to more than just superpowers. She pointed to the internal, emotional lives of the characters, and the show’s found-family dynamic, as the true engine behind why fans keep coming back generation after generation.

The Lewalds’ perspective carries particular authority given their history with the property, having helped shape ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ when it first premiered on Fox more than three decades ago. That original run laid much of the groundwork for how mutant storytelling would be handled across future adaptations, from the Fox film franchise to Marvel’s own cinematic universe.

Their continued involvement as consultants on ‘X-Men ’97,’ now heading into further seasons following its acclaimed revival, has kept that institutional knowledge close to the current creative process. It’s a perspective the studio would be wise to heed as it hands the live-action reboot’s script to writers Joanna Calo and Lee Sung Jin, known respectively for their work on ‘The Bear’ and ‘Beef.’

With a release date already set and a cast slowly taking shape, fans and industry watchers alike are left hoping Marvel absorbs the lessons of what made the franchise resonate in the first place, rather than chasing reinvention for its own sake.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!