X-Men ’97 Finds New Head Writer for Season 3, Following Beau DeMayo’s Abrupt Exit
There’s a new face at the helm of X-Men ’97.
Matthew Chauncey — who has previously worked on the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel and What If…? — has been tapped to serve as head writer for the in-development third season of the streamer’s animated X-Men show, according to our sister site Deadline. (TVLine has reached out to Disney+ for confirmation.)
Chauncey will succeed series creator Beau DeMayo, who served as head writer during production on Seasons 1 and 2, but abruptly parted ways with the series just days before its March debut earlier this year. At the time (per The Hollywood Reporter), although DeMayo was expected to attend a premiere event for X-Men ’97 ahead of the show’s launch, DeMayo’s work email was instead deactivated, staff was informed he was no longer involved with the series, and his Instagram account was deleted.
“I can’t talk about the details, but I can say that Beau had real respect and passion for these characters and wrote what I think are excellent scripts that really the rest of the team were able to draw inspiration from [to] build this amazing show that’s on screen,” Marvel Studios exec Brad Winderbaum told Entertainment Weekly days after DeMayo’s departure. “I don’t [consider his exit a firing]. ‘We parted ways’ is the best way I could say.”
X-Men ’97, per its official logline, “revisits the iconic era of the 1990s as The X-Men, a band of mutants who use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them, are challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.” Season 2 is currently in production; Season 3, where new scribe Chauncey will work alongside Season 1 director Jake Castorena, has yet to be formally greenlit, but is in the development stages.
So went from gay POC to white cis guy. Interesting
Xmen was created by white cis guys… this bigotry is so stupid.
It sounds like they found someone else in the Marvel universe with experience in animation.
Gay POC to gay white guy. And they’re both cisgender, unless I’m mistaken.
You know, if we’re being accurate.
Considering this guy’s resume… big YIKES
The MCU has a real problem respecting the source material, something that X’97 did masterfully. Want to be proven wrong, but this choice doesn’t inspire an ounce of confidence that the show will remain faithful to the comics great stories and characters.
I thought Ms. Marvel was a very effective and endearing adaptation, though it obviously took certain liberties with the comics it was based on.
I guess the question is whether you place a higher value on faithfully replicating the source material or using its core elements to craft a good, new story.
I don’t mind original side stories, that’s how we got Laura/X23, but mind you this is the same guy that went out of his way to push his original character in all that he could and openly hated established characters with real legacy, only to backtrack once fans voiced their discontent. It’s like getting someone to adapt the Lord of The Rings who is not interested in adapting what it’s on the books.
well they did say that Season 3 was going to be something different so what better way to do this than add a cis-white male who has no experience with intolerance, discrimination and bigotry and everything the X-Men have been fighting for.
Maybe do a bit more research on Matthew Chauncey first.
The man is gay and you are trying to say he has no experience with intolerance, discrimination, and bigotry, just stop while you are behind.
F, you should at least pretend to know what you’re talking about.
Don’t get me wrong I loved x men 97 but being gay myself I had to mention this issue. Did we really need Magneto stripped down to just his underwear when he was kidnapped? Also did we have to have the sexual tension between most everyone on the show? It was a little annoying.
I’m sorry but both of those shows weren’t really good. They had their moments but not really good. Not a great sign.
I think the second season of What If was on a par with X-Men ’97 – at least in terms of the writing.
It admittedly didn’t have that same visual flair and heady hit of nostalgia, but it had a strong collection of unique stories that interwove in an effective way, very much like X-Men does.
Good. Both Ms. Marvel and What If are excellent and if he does just as good a job on X-Men 97, all will be well.
Its pretty obvious Beau DeMayo was fired. No one gets disinvited from a party if its just a parting of the ways – that implies there was an incident that most likely involved his staff.
Yeah its pretty easy to read between the lines, they may be keeping it quiet but its obvious that something went down and they got rid of him because of it.
Matthew Chauncey is an openly gay man. So I doubt he has zero experience with bigotry.