Marvel's Kevin Feige Had Two Conditions To Make X-Men '97
It's not uncommon in the modern entertainment landscape for streamers to revive popular '90s television series. It's not always a successful endeavor. However, "X-Men '97" seems to have everyone saying the same thing: it's great. The Disney+ series looks to be a worthy successor to the iconic '90s cartoon, and it appears Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige had the right idea with a couple of stipulations for making the continuation a reality.
When Brad Winderbaum, head of streaming at Marvel, spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about "X-Men '97," he revealed how Feige gave him two requirements if they were going to push forward with the idea. "Following the success of 'What If...?', when we were able to make more animated shows, ['X-Men '97'] was my first idea out of the box," Winderbaum explained. "And Kevin [Feige] was like, 'Alright, if we can get the [original] cast and we can get the song, let's do it.' And fortunately, we were able to do that."
Much of the original cast is, indeed, back, and the rights to the legendary theme song are secured, as evidenced by snippets of the "X-Men: The Animated Series" theme popping up in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and "Ms. Marvel." The results are bound to be pure nostalgia and a throwback to a time when superhero shows could exist as their own thing without needing to connect to a dozen other projects.
The cost for the X-Men cartoon theme song likely came at a 'heavy price'
Marvel Studios getting the rights to make an "X-Men" animated show on Disney+ after the purchase of 20th Century Fox is one thing. It was another matter entirely to be allowed to use the fantastic theme song the '90s cartoon had. Ownership rights can make using songs featured in TV shows a tricky proposition. The "Dawson's Creek" theme song had that tragic problem, and as a result, sometimes another song would need to be used on certain streaming services. It sounds like securing the rights to the "X-Men: The Animated Series" theme song required some work and likely cost Marvel Studios a pretty penny.
In August 2022, Eric Lewald, one of the creators of the original series and a consultant on "X-Men '97," spoke at Pennsylvania's Steel City convention, which ComicBook.com later transcribed. He admitted getting those rights was an uphill battle: "[The 'X-Men: The Animated Series' theme song] wasn't a done deal necessarily when they were producing the new show. The rights were all over the place." Without going into specifics, Lewald mentioned that Marvel entered negotiations with whoever held the rights to the song, and while the exact cost is unknown, it probably didn't come cheap. Lewald concluded, "I'm sure it was a heavy price."
Whatever the cost, it was surely worth it. Of all the things fans hoped to see (or hear) in "X-Men '97," the theme song would definitely be at the top of the list. You have to hand it to Kevin Feige; the man knows what fans want.