Anyone watching X-Men '97 as new episodes drop on a weekly cadence will probably tell you each episode feels like a cinematic experience crammed into half an hour. So, it's no surprise that the directors of the animated series expressed interest in making an animated X-Men film.
Speaking with Inverse, X-Men '97 directors Chase Conley, Emi Yonemura, and Jake Castorena said they want to make a film featuring the iconic superhero team comprised of mutants.
"First off, it would be a slam dunk," Conley explained. "I think that would absolutely be something the audience would want to see and we would want to be a part of."
More interestingly, Yonemura said that an animated X-Men film based on the Disney+ series could give other critically-acclaimed animated films a run for their month, citing the Spider-Verse films and Akira among other works.
"Akira. Ghost in the Shell. Those levels," Yonemura said. "It's like: 'Hey, you want to give us the money and budget to do that for you? But for X-Men '97? Gladly.'"
X-Men '97 premiered last month and has been met with critical acclaim. The second and third seasons are already in development. Beau DeMayo created the series, though Marvel fired him a week before the show premiered. Before his termination, a Marvel spokesperson revealed that DeMayo had already completed writing for the second season. Disney and Marvel have yet to share further details on who will take point on the show for season three and onwards.
The series dropped its sixth episode this week, with the season finale set to release on May 15. In our review of the sixth episode of X-Men '97 Lifedeath — Part 2, my colleague Jesse Schdeen wrote: "While the brisk pacing doesn't quite do justice to the comic book source material, X-Men '97: Episode 6 ultimately caps off a satisfying and emotionally resonant Storm storyline."
If you're caught up on X-Men '97, check out our feature, where we explain who the new Marvel villain introduced in episode 6 is, as well as our piece detailing the burning questions we still have that the show has yet to answer.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
