Well, that was uneXpected. Just over a week ahead of the highly-anticipated premiere of X-Men ’97, The Hollywood Reporter reported that series creator and showrunner Beau De Mayo has suddenly been fired. The studio has not commented on the decision, nor has De Mayo made a public statement about the shocking turn of events. The news couldn’t have come at a worse time for the show; word of De Mayo’s departure broke on the eve of the show’s premiere and just ahead of planned rounds of press interviews. De Mayo has been, of course, removed from the series’ press plans.
According to THR, De Mayo’s company email was deactivated early last week and the show’s cast and crew were notified of his departure. Additionally, De Mayo deactivated his personal Instagram account. As of this writing, no reason for De Mayo’s axing has been released. Still, De Mayo’s influence on X-Men ’97 will be felt, potentially for the foreseeable future; Season 1, which premieres on March 20, is wrapped and De Mayo completed his work on the in-development Season 2 before his firing.
De Mayo was brought on board in November 2021 following his work on the Marvel Studios series Moon Knight and, over in another universe, a stint on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Disney hiring a gay, Black man to lead the X-Men’s return to TV was met with a positive reaction from fans, as the X-Men franchise has long used the mutant metaphor to tackle themes of prejudice. The original animated series, which premiered in 1992, never shied away from the allegory and frequently wove social politics into its storytelling.
A continuation of the landmark animated series, X-Men ’97 reunites much of the original series’ voice cast. Original series creators Eric and Julia Lewald and director Larry Houston were also involved behind-the-scenes of X-Men ’97.
X-Men ’97 premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, March 20.
