Ray Chase, Jennifer Hale, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, J. P. Karliak, Lenore Zann, George Buza, A. J. LoCascio, Holly Chou, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Matthew Waterson, Ross Marquand, and Adrian Hough star as members of the X-Men.

Original series stars Catherine Disher, Chris Potter, Alyson Court, Lawrence Bayne, and Ron Rubin returned to voice new characters.

[47] Other guest stars include Lawrence Bayne—who voiced Cable in the original series—as Carl Denti / X-Cutioner, leader of the anti-mutant group Friends of Humanity;[28][48] Kimberly Woods as a vision of Bishop's younger sister Shard,[13] replacing original voice actor Kay Tremblay;[43] Abby Trott as Spiral, Mojo's assistant, replacing original voice actor Cynthia Belliveau;[42][49] Travis Willingham as Sebastian Shaw, a former member of the Inner Circle Club who serves on the council of Genosha, replacing original voice actor David Bryant;[50] Morla Gorrondonna as Lilandra Neramani, the empress of the Shi'ar Empire,[30] replacing original voice actor Camilla Scott;[31] Cari Kabinoff as Lilandra's sister Deathbird;[30] Jeff Bennett as Ford, the da Costa family's butler; Anjali Bhimani as Bastion's assistant Daria;[14] Rama Vallury as Baron Zemo, a member of OZT;[24] Gates McFadden as Rachel Summers / Mother Askani, leader of the Askani Clan in a desolate future;[20] and Adetokumboh M'Cormack as En Sabah Nur, a younger version of Apocalypse living in Ancient Egypt.

[25] Additionally, Josh Keaton and Michael Patrick McGill reprise their respective roles as Steve Rogers / Captain America and Thunderbolt Ross from the series What If...?

[11][20] Other characters that make non-speaking appearances in the first season include Cyclops's brother Vulcan who is a member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard;[11] Alpha Flight members Northstar, Puck, and Aurora; Japanese mutant Silver Samurai; the Russian superhero team Winter Guard which includes the mutants Omega Red and Darkstar alongside Crimson Dynamo; Iron Man from the 1990s series of the same name; the magic-wielding superhero Doctor Strange; New York heroes Daredevil, Cloak, and Dagger;[20] and the characters Peter Parker / Spider-Man, Mary Jane Watson, and Flash Thompson from the animated series Spider-Man (1994–1998), revealing that Spider-Man has found Mary Jane following the events of that series' finale.

[60] In November 2020, Beau DeMayo was asked to present a pitch for the revival after working as a writer for Marvel Studios' live-action Disney+ miniseries Moon Knight (2022).

[60] Houston and the original series' showrunners, Eric and Julia Lewald, were consulting on the revival,[60][68] assisting with any "red flags" that arose and suggesting things they would like to see.

He was not involved in further promotion for the series and missed its red carpet premiere, which The Hollywood Reporter said was unusual for someone working on a Marvel Studios project, "even if they've been shuffled to the side" or replaced by other creatives.

[90] This decision was reportedly based on multiple instances that Marvel viewed as violations of DeMayo's termination agreement, in addition to the fan art post.

[2] DeMayo wanted to honor the original series while bringing it into the modern world,[59]: 19:09–19:48  hoping to retain its earnestness, emotional sincerity, and focus on found family while updating the social commentary to reflect contemporary society.

[95] The new series explores whether Professor Charles Xavier's dream of mutant/human co-existence and his focus on empathy are still relevant to modern audiences,[28][96] with DeMayo feeling that issues of social acceptance had become more complicated since the 1990s.

[29] Joining the team in the first season are Bishop, a time-traveling ally of the X-Men; Morph, who rejoins after their death and resurrection in the original series;[97] and Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler.

He wanted the X-Men to go through a similarly traumatic event and face "the realities of an adult and unsafe world" just like the audience of the original series had, which led to the attack on the mutant nation of Genosha in the fifth episode.

[17] The reveal that Bastion is responsible for the Genosha attack leads to the season's three-part finale, which includes elements from the crossover event "Operation: Zero Tolerance" (1997).

He explained that in his version of the scripts there had been hints throughout the season leading to the appearance of the character Onslaught in the tenth episode, which also included elements based on the comic book storyline Age of Apocalypse (1995).

[111] With the revival's announcement, several voice actors were revealed to be returning from the original series: Cal Dodd (Logan / Wolverine), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Henry "Hank" McCoy / Beast), Catherine Disher (Jean Grey), Chris Potter (Remy LeBeau / Gambit), Alison Sealy-Smith (Ororo Munroe / Storm), Adrian Hough (Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler), Christopher Britton (Nathaniel Essex / Mister Sinister), and Alyson Court (Jubilation Lee / Jubilee).

[4] Recasting was also done to have more authentic representation (as with Court and Jubilee), because of specific vocal intonations (as with Cable to better highlight the "weird" father-son relationship with Cyclops), or for symbolic reasons (as with Disher now voicing Valerie Cooper).

[129] The X-Men '97 version of the theme, credited to Saban and Levy, was first heard in the MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and then the series Ms. Marvel (2022) when those projects referenced mutants.

For instance, Storm's music uses woodwind instruments, choir, and chanting to reflect the wind aspect of her powers, while a waterphone and other metallic sounds were used for Magneto.

All music composed by the Newton Brothers:[136] The series was discussed during Marvel Studios Animation's panel at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con, where animatics were shown.

[137] Select X-Men comic books released in March 2024 feature variant covers based on Hasbro's Marvel Legends figures for the series.

[142] James Whitbrook at Gizmodo felt something was off about the trailer and identified that the animation "flits between looking oddly flat and stilted and some elements that almost look 3D", along with the combination of new and returning voice actors.

[44] According to Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the 25 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, X-Men '97 was the most anticipated new series of March 2024.

[148] Disney announced that the first two episodes had 4 million views worldwide in the five days following their release, marking the biggest first-season premiere for a full-length animated series on the service since the first season of What If...?

[153] The first season received critical acclaim,[92][154][155] was called "Marvel's best release in years", and was praised for its nostalgic animation, "smart writing, and captivating action sequences".

The website's critics consensus reads, "Pulling off the x-traordinary feat of staying true to its beloved predecessor while charting a path forward for the franchise, X-Men '97 is simply x-cellent.

William Hughes of AV Club noted that the revival captures the essence of the original series, commenting that it matches viewers’ childhood memories rather than replicating specific elements.

[165] Meanwhile, Alison Herman of Variety complimented the show’s throwback visuals, writing that the “neon-colored, two-dimensional style” made for an engaging viewing experience.

Hayden Mears of TV Line described X-Men '97 as “confident and charming,” bolstered by excellent voice performances[167] while Brian Lowry of CNN observed that the series takes advantage of the streaming format to present a slightly more adult tone while remaining true to the original's spirit.

Charles Pulliam-Moore of The Verge referred to it as Marvel’s “omega-level nostalgia play,”[175] while Rohan Naahar of The Indian Express criticized the show for leaning too heavily on glorified nostalgia marketing,[176] while Brittany Frederick of CBR found the balance between old and new elements to be effective, describing the premiere as “a blast for both old and new fans alike.”[177] Witney Seibold of Slashfilm likened the series to “classic rock,” suggesting that while it’s familiar and comforting, it has lost some of its edge.