X-Men '97's upcoming seasons just received major updates. These updates come straight from actress Lenore Zann who voices Rogue. The Canadian actress and politician has been voicing the beloved mutant Southern Belle since the original 90s animated series. Critically and popularly acclaimed, fans have been waiting to hear something about season 2 for a while now.
So, it was a pleasant surprise when fans learned about the new update on the second season. The Rogue voice actress and fellow X-Men '97 cast members Alyson Court and Chris Potter participated in an Indiana Comic Convention panel for which Collider’s Deputy Editor Maggie Lovitt served as a moderator.
In that panel, Zann offered three surprises to the X-Men fans. Firstly, confirmed that the second season was complete and that she will begin working on season 3 soon by saying:
"We've finished recording Season 2, and that will be coming out in 2026. I'm about to start to go into the studio next week to start on season three, so I've got lots to look forward to."
After revealing that she will begin recording season 3 next week, she expressed her happiness with the new showrunner of the series and the writing team. Her quote was:
"I met Matt Chauncy, who's our new head writer and showrunner, and I've met a lot of the writers, well, all of them, actually. It's great. And it's interesting because I wrote a memoir called A Rogue's Tale, which just came out in the fall, and he contacted me and said, 'I'd really like to give your book to each of the writers.' So he gave it as Christmas presents to the writers. It was really sweet."
Explaining X-Men '97's Lenore Zann's comments
Lenore Zann's positive comments about the new X-Men '97 showrunner Matthew Chauncey have fans hopeful for the upcoming seasons. Chauncey will be serving as the showrunner for not only season 2 but also season 3 featuring the iconic Marvel Mutant team. Chauncey was one of the executive producers of the acclaimed first season of the animated series released in March 2024, but not the showrunner.
For that season, Beau DeMayo served as the showrunner. However, he was fired by Marvel on March 12, 2024, just a week before X-Men '97 began streaming on Disney+ on March 20, 2024.
The reason behind this firing was revealed months later on August 15, 2024, through a report on The Hollywood Reporter. Accusing him of inappropriate behavior, a representative for Marvel gave this statement:
“Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 following an internal investigation. Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately, and he has no further affiliation with Marvel.”
The statement above was a response to DeMayo accusing Marvel of being tough to work with. He accused Marvel of stripping him of his credit for his work on season 2 because he posted a fan art depicting himself as a shirtless Cyclops to celebrate Pride Month in June 2024. He revealed all these things through this Instagram post:
While we may never know what really happened, given the troubling situations, it made sense from a business point of view for Marvel to hire a new person as a showrunner.
As we wait for the second season, hear Lenore Zann's incredible voice work as Rogue in X-Men '97 Season 1.
Also Read: DeWanda Wise rumored to star as Storm in Marvel's upcoming X-Men film

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