X-Men ’97 producer Larry Houston opened up about the lifespan of the acclaimed Disney+ revival. Marvel Animation’s modern continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series has been firing on all cylinders. Following the massive success of its debut season in 2024, X-Men ’97 Season 2 maintained the momentum, anchored by strong reviews and character-driven storylines. With the show’s success, the creative team appears to have mapped out an ambitious long-term vision for the hit mutant-led animated series.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Direct as part of the promotion for the Marvel Animation series, X-Men ’97 producer and original series director Larry Houston shared his thoughts on the ideal runway for the Disney+ show. He said he wants it to last for “five seasons” or“maybe six” to align withthe original series:
The Direct: “How many total seasons do you feel is the ideal amount to tell the story that you think needs to be told without the show dragging on and overstaying its welcome?”
Larry Houston: “I would say, if they can at least match what I did [with the original series], five seasons, it would be great. Maybe six. But everything depends on the audience and how well-received the stories that they’re doing are.”
Houston also offered valuable insight into the difference between the original show’s pacing and today’s streaming model, noting that Disney+’s storytelling is “more compressed than ours.”
The Marvel producer continued by saying there is a wealth of storylines that this modern take could explore, considering that there were “24, 25 more years of other stories that [he] never touched:”
“With my original series, we had 13 episodes per season. Streaming is only like eight or nine, so their storytelling is more compressed than ours. We could stretch things out and let characterizations of situations breathe more than the streaming, it’s just more smaller. So if ‘X-Men ’97’ could do something like at least match what we did for five seasons, that would allow a lot more stories to be explored. Because there’s been 24, 25 more years of other stories that I never touched, that this current ‘X-Men ’97’ production is exploring.”
Houston’s five-season target makes sense, as it serves as a benchmark tied directly to the legacy he helped build. X-Men ’97 has already been renewed through Season 4, a historic first for any Marvel Studios series. This early commitment underscores the studio’s confidence in the show while closely aligning with Houston’s five-season goal.
In October 2025 at New York Comic-Con 2025, Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation at Marvel Studios, said that they were already talking about Season 4 and 5 of X-Men ’97, reassuring this long-term commitment:
“There’s more than possibly more to come from X-Men ’97. We’re talking about Season 4 and 5 now. Season 3 is… I’ve almost seen animatics for the entire season and it is incredible. I saw an episode the other day that had me weeping in the edit bay. It’s a great show.”
That five-season goal has since expanded. In a separate interview with POC Culture in July, X-Men ’97 producer Eric Lewald revealed that Winderbaum wants to do “10 [seasons]” of the show, signaling a bright future for the series:
“Brad’s [Winderbaum] bursting up and down and you know he wants to do 10, and we want him to do 10. We want eight years from now to be having more conversations like this about season 10. With 60 years of comics and all these characters…there’s really no limit.”
X-Men ’97 Season 2 is midway through its run on Disney+, and Season 3 is already in active development and slated for release in 2027.
This 2027 target aligns with comments Larry Houston made in his June 2026 interview with The Direct. The veteran producer noted that the X-Men ’97 team has already “learned their lessons” from the two-year gap between Seasons 1 and 2, promising that future seasons will arrive more quickly:
“Luckily, the production problems won’t occur again. There was a huge gap of time between [season] one and two. They’ve learned their lessons, so with [seasons] three and four, that won’t happen again… That was a one-off.”
With more stories to tell and characters to introduce, the five-season or 10-season plan for X-Men ’97 feels achievable.
Why X-Men ’97’s Long-Term Plan Is a Good Thing Despite the Impending Mutant Saga
The announcement of an ambitious five to 10-year roadmap for X-Men ’97 is exciting news for MCU fans, even with the incoming Mutant Saga in the live-action space. This vision allows the series to become the definitive animated X-Men saga, where fans can revisit noteworthy takes of the Phoenix Saga, Age of Apocalypse, Weapon X, and many more, while the MCU introduces a fresh adaptation on the big screen.
Brad Winderbaum addressed both an X-Men series and film franchise existing at Marvel Studios during a recent panel at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2026, telling audiences that the series and the MCU’s X-Men movie can “definitely run simultaneously:”
“Yeah, I think the two things can definitely run simultaneously. Look how many Spider-Man things there are. There’s ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man,’ the ‘Spider-Verse’ movies, the live-action movies, the preschool show. X-Men could definitely do the same thing. I’m not sure it has a preschool show, but certainly ‘X-Men ’97’ can run simultaneously with live-action.”
The MCU’s Mutant Saga is expected to be huge but constrained by shared-universe roles, actor availability, and budgets. X-Men ’97 can run parallel and avoid those complications, exploring what-if scenarios and fleshing out characters without stepping on the MCU’s toes.
A long-term plan for X-Men ’97 doesn’t compete with the Mutant Saga; it complements it. The MCU’s version can be a grand cinematic event, while the animated show dives into character exploration tied to Marvel Comics stories.
