X-Men ’97 will feature all sorts of time travel hijinks, with various groups of the X-Men being stranded in different eras, and it’s all built around the immortal villain Apocalypse. There will also be plenty of new characters in the mix, but several major threads will carry over to the new season. That includes X-Men ’97’s best character, whose fate has now been officially addressed after that big post-credits scene in season 1.
In season 1, the beloved X-Man Gambit gave his life to help save the people of Genosha, and executive producer Larry Houston says that the death of Gambit “looms greatly over season 2,” and that’s even more true for Rogue, who is still mourning his death (via EW). “Gambit has been such a core character to the X-Men, pretty much since he debuted in the comics back in 1990,” Houston said. “He’s been a huge part of our storytelling in the animated series, as well, and I know fans have a lot of expectations on how we follow up on everything that happened in season 1 in this new season.”
X-Men ’97’s Post Credits Scene Sets Up A Major Story From The Comics
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The aftermath and impact of Gambit’s death weren’t the only things the Executive Producers teased about season 2, as Houston, Eric Lewald, and Julia Lewald also addressed that post-credits scene from season 1. The scene shows Apocalypse standing in the wreckage and ruins of Genosha while holding a playing card, and Apocalypse then says, “So much pain, my children. So much…death.”
That scene certainly indicates that Gambit could become Apocalypse’s horseman Deathlike in the comics, and while Julia wouldn’t confirm that, the tease did get addressed. “We probably don’t wanna get too close to answering that specifically, but appreciate that a lot of folks are picking up breadcrumbs. And that’s positive,” Julia said.
Eric then added the cherry on top, saying, “If you were a betting man, I would say, follow the breadcrumbs.”
Episode Director Chase Conley then teased that while they are adapting elements of major stories from the comics, they are excited to give it their own spin (via EW). “What’s fun is the animated series has always done its own adaptations, so you don’t know what you’re going to get,” Conley said. “But our writers definitely put it there to make people think. Every single word in the series is very intentional and combed over four times.”
X-Men ’97 hits Disney+ on July 1, 2026.
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