When Marvel Studios' anticipated new animated series,X-Men ‘97, premieres, fans of the original will be greeted with a familiar villain returning to the screen.
Now that Disney has fully absorbed Fox Studios, the MCU is finally introducing mutants, which began withMs. Marvel. But more than anything, viewers are ready for theX-Mento enter the universe.X-Men ‘97will be a precursor to this, and producers reported the upcoming series will pick up where the original left off. Capitalizing on the nostalgia of decades past, many are waiting for more information about the new show. Already, merchandise has teased fans about what they can expect from the characters.
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In a series of new toys,legacy characters such as Stormwill get a new look. But that’s not all. The line of merchandise also revealed that an iconic villain from the animated series is returning to terrorize the X-Men. WhenX-Men ‘97finally premieres, fans can expect the return of the mutant-hunting robots, the Sentinels. A main villain in many X-Men properties, pictures of Sentinel toys have been posted byMarvelous News.
Sentinels have not just been a primary villain in the animated series but also in live-action projects. Before the Disney merger occurred,Days of Future Pastdid an impressive job of melding previous and current iterations of the X-Men. Throwing Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) into dire straits yet again, the film focused on the push to eradicate all mutants by the aggressive Sentinel program. Using Mystique’s (Jennifer Lawrence) DNA to be able to shift into any form that could kill mutants, the adversaries in the film became exceptionally dangerous.Dispatching the best brawlerto the ‘70s was their best weapon for stopping a terrible future.
Re-introducing the Sentinels into theX-Menworld is not surprising. When the original animated show first aired, it was the primary antagonist that threw the audience into this world, andX-Men ‘97should embrace what made the original series great. If producers are to be believed andX-Men ‘97will pick up where the original series left off, Sentinels are the most likely figures to place audiences back in the world. These robots are the perfect choice not because of their iconic nature but because of how they have progressed through the years.
Even before one of thehighest-rankedX-Menmovies, they were thorns in the sides of the X-Men in the 2009 seriesWolverine and the X-Men. Struggling to take leadership over the team after an accident, Wolverine has to contend with personalities and robots that keep advancing. The series introduced the Sentinel Prowler, which turned a ’90s-era villain into a more insidious adversary. As such a cultural touchstone, bringing back the Sentinels is the best way to appeal to fans of the comic book team, old and new.
X-Men ‘97is expected to premiere on Disney Plus in the fall of 2023.
