In a shocking turn of events that caught Marvel fans off guard, Beau DeMayo, who wrote and produced the first two seasons of the upcomingX-Men ‘97animated series for Disney+, has been fired just weeks ahead of the series premiere.
PerThe Hollywood Reporter, Marvel suddenly parted ways with DeMayo last week and the relationship seemed to end swiftly with the writer’s company email being deactivated as well as the cast and crew being informed that he would no longer be associated withX-Men ‘97.DeMayo’s Instagram account has also been deleted in the wake of the news, with no official reason being given for him receiving his pink slip from Marvel.
The news comes at a rather peculiar time, sinceX-Men ‘97is set as the long-awaited continuation of the ’90s Fox Kids show that has been a fan favorite for years. With the show premiering in about a week, DeMayo was in the process of gearing up to make press appearances to promote the series and was even making plans to attend its Hollywood premiere on March 13. In addition to this, the writer was said to be throwing around ideas for a third season with various members of his team. It is clear that whatever caused the dissolution of the relationship between Marvel and DeMayo was something serious enough to make his departure swift and final.
DeMayo Seemed Set For a Long Run With the X-Men
DeMayo is no stranger to the Marvel brand. He previously worked on the live-action Disney+Moon Lightseries and even wrote early drafts ofBlade, which has seen its share of delays but is still coming to the MCU at some point. Marvel has parted ways with writers in the past, most notably purging the writing staff forDaredevil: Born Againto guide that series in a new direction following not being pleased with its creative trajectory. What makes this situation different, and seemingly more serious, is that it’s highly unusual for someone in DeMayo’s position to be pulled from doing press or missing a highly publicized premiere.
DeMayo was first announced as a writer onX-Men ‘97back in November 2021. Given the nature of theX-Mensource material and its willingness to speak on social issues, his hiring earned praise since DeMayo is an openly gay black man. He particularly identified with theX-Mencharacters since he grew up the adopted son of white parents with a Korean sister in the South. Since this project was likely more personal to DeMayo, he could bring more to it as a fan and from an emotionally creative standpoint as well.
How X-Men ‘97 Fits Into the MCU
X-Men ‘97 has fans buzzing with anticipation, while many others are wondering if the revival show will fit into the MCU.
That’s not to say that DeMayo has been without criticism. In May 2023, the writer declared that he would be deleting his Twitter after users on the site began attacking him for allegedly whitewashing the character of Sunspot onX-Men ‘97with the casting of Brazilian actor, Gui Agustini. When the series’ first trailer dropped, while it did receive a majority of high praise, some social media usersaccused the series of appearing to be “too woke.”
X-Men: The Animated Seriesoriginally ran on Fox from 1992-1997 and had a total of 76 episodes. The series is widely considered to be the main reason that a new generation of audiences was introduced to the X-Men in pop culture, ahead of the film franchise which began in 2000.
X-Men ‘97is expected to hit Disney+ on March 20.
