Every X-Men: The Animated Series Voice Actor Not Returning For X-Men ’97

X-Men ’97 will revive the iconic X-Men: The Animated Series, continuing the story of the classic X-Men adaptation, though not every voice actor from the original series will return in ’97. Amalgamating various X-Men comic runs and featuring a cast of some of the team’s best mutant heroes, X-Men: The Animated Series ran for five seasons, starting in 1992 and ending in 1997 on its own terms. The series is a love letter to the source material and deservedly became known as one of the X-Men’s definitive adaptations.

During X-Men: The Animated Series’ original run, 20th Century Fox acquired the film rights to the X-Men intellectual property, eventually leading to the first live-action X-Men movie in 2000 and a subsequent film franchise that would continue through the 2010s (and will seemingly end with the forthcoming Deadpool & Wolverine). With Fox’s acquisition by Disney in 2019, not only did the MCU begin work on establishing a new version of the X-Men, but they also revived the original animated series with the upcoming X-Men ‘97, whose cast will not include all of the original show’s voice actors.

7
Norm Spencer Will Be Succeeded As Cyclops

Ray Chase Leads The X-Men As Scott Summers

Norm Spencer was part of the original show’s main cast, playing the X-Men’s field leader, Cyclops – also known as Scott Summers. Spencer reprised the role in Spider-Man: The Animated Series (which shares a continuity with X-Men) and played different iterations of Cyclops in several Marvel video games, including 2000’s Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes. Sadly, Norm Spencer passed away in 2020, and Cyclops will be voiced by Ray Chase in X-Men ’97.

6
Iona Morris Was Succeeded By Alison Sealy-Smith In The 90s

Sealy-Smith Will Continue To Play Storm In X-Men ‘97

Although she played Storm (Ororo Munroe) excellently in the first season of X-Men: The Animated Series, Iona Morris was replaced by Alison Sealy-Smith in the role for the rest of the series. This would not be the end of Morris’s Marvel work, however, as she would join the cast of the Spider-Man 3 video game as Dr. Jessica Andrews, an original character created for the Raimi Spider-Man continuity. Alison Sealy-Smith will return in X-Men ’97 to voice Storm once again.

5
Gambit Won’t Be Voiced By Tony Daniels

A. J. LoCascio Will Play Gambit

Similarly, Gambit (Remy LeBeau) was voiced by two voice actors in the original run of X-Men: The Animated Series – first Chris Potter, and later Tony Daniels. While Daniels continued to voice Gambit in other X-Men adaptations, such as the 2000 video game X-Men: Mutant Academy, he will not be returning to voice LeBeau in X-Men ’97. Gambit’s new voice actor will be A. J. LoCascio.

4
Philip Atkin Will Not Voice Bishop

Bishop’s New Actor Is Isaac Robinson-Smith

Philip Atkin voiced the time-traveling Bishop throughout the original run in X-Men: The Animated Series, and would join the cast of The Avengers: United They Stand as the villainous Atlantean Attuma. Atkin will not, however, return as Bishop in X-Men ’97, with Isaac Robinson-Smith succeeding him in the role. Robinson-Smith, notably, had two roles in Marvel’s What If…?, playing the Hydra soldier Brick in season 1 and Justin Hammer’s enforcer Sergei in season 2.

3
David Hemblen Will Be Succeeded As Magneto

Matthew Waterson Will Now Voice The Master Of Magnetism

The complex antagonist Magneto was originally voiced by David Hemblen in X-Men: The Animated Series. Fascinatingly, Hemblen came close to playing Magneto in live-action as well, with scheduling issues allegedly causing him to miss out on the famous role. Magneto would be famously played by Sir Ian McKellen and later Michael Fassbender in the Fox X-Men movies. While Hemblen’s portrayal of Magneto is fondly remembered by some viewers, Hemblen passed away in 2020 and thus cannot reprise the role in X-Men ’97. Matthew Waterson will now voice Magneto in the character’s X-Men ’97 appearances.

2
Cedric Smith Will Not Be Returning As Professor X

Ross Marquand Now Voices Charles Xavier

Cedric Smith initially voiced Charles Xavier – also known as Professor X – in the original run of the X-Men animated series. Smith played Xavier in several X-Men video games, such as 1995’s X-Men 2: Clone Wars, and he would go on to voice Mentor in one episode of 1998’s Silver Surfer. Perhaps coincidentally, Cedric Smith was married to Catherine Disher, a co-star in X-Men: The Animated Series. While Disher is returning, Smith will not reprise the role of Charles Xavier. Instead, Professor X will be played by Ross Marquand, who also played Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.

1
Some X-Men Voice Actors Will Return In X-Men ’97 As Different Characters

Alyson Court, Catherine Disher, Chris Potter, Lawrence Bayne, & Ron Rubin Will Have New Roles

Some of the original X-Men: The Animated Series cast members will return in X-Men ’97, but voice different characters:

• Jubilee – who served as the audience surrogate in the original X-Men animated series and will return as a main cast member in X-Men ’97 – was originally voiced by Alyson Court. Court will not voice Jubilee in ’97, but she will play Abcissa, a villainous, alternate universe variant of Jubilee who served the alien Mojo in Marvel’s comics. The mainstream iteration of Jubilee will be voiced by Holly Chou.
• Catherine Disher, who voiced Jean Grey in the original X-Men series, will return as well, but Disher will not be reprising the Jean Grey role. In X-Men ’97, Jean Grey will be voiced by Jennifer Hale, who played the character in several other X-Men adaptations, from the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series to the 2019 video game Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order. Hale notably had a major role in the Spider-Man Animated Series, playing Felicia Hardy, also known as Black Cat. Catherine Disher will voice Dr. Valerie Cooper, a US government agent.
• Chris Potter was the first voice actor to play Gambit in X-Men: The Animated Series, and while Potter will not be voicing Gambit in X-Men ’97, he will still have a role in the series, replacing Lawrence Bayne as Cable. Lawrence Bayne, who voiced a variety of characters in the same universe as X-Men, such as Captain America, will also play a new role in X-Men ’97. Instead of reprising his role as Cable, Bayne will now voice the villainous former FBI Agent Carl Denti, also known as X-Cutioner.
• Morph, an original character created for X-Men: The Animated Series (who was based on the established mutant known as Changeling) was voiced by Ron Rubin. Rubin will be replaced by J. P. Karliak as Morph, but the original actor will now voice the villainous US Senator Robert Kelly in X-Men ‘97. Kelly’s original voice actor, Len Carlson, passed away in 2006.