Hey bub — it’s been a long time coming! It’s been 27 years since Marvel’s merry mutants said goodbye to Professor X. And in that instance we said goodbye to them as X-Men: The Animated Series concluded its incredible five-season run. Now, in 2024, the story continues in X-Men ‘97!

Today, Marvel Animation has released the first trailer and key art for X-Men ‘97. As well as the official release date for it, March 20, 2024! Take a look here and try to suppress the tears of joy:

Comic books and superheroes have been a part of me since I was just a kid. Growing up wasn’t always the easiest. So I turned to the colorful adventures of the greatest heroes the planet had ever seen, fantasizing about having cool powers and being one too. And that all started for me, like many others, because of X-Men: The Animated Series.

X-Men: The Animated Series was my gateway into the greater Marvel Universe. From that cartoon, I began reading the comics. And from X-Men comics I began reading crossovers into other Marvel properties until I fell in love with all Marvel Comics. So what I guess I’m saying, if I’m saying anything at all, is that these heroes are returning at a time that I need them the most: adulthood. And seeing this story continue today in X-Men ‘97 means everything to me and more.

Though some of the voice cast from the original have since passed, many of the surviving voice actors will be returning to reprise their roles including Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Lenore Zann as Rogue, George Buza as Beast, and of course Cal Dodd as Wolverine!

The poster even evokes warm feelings of nostalgia inspired by the cassette tapes they released for the cartoon growing up:

For me, as I’m sure it is for many, this is an X-traordinary day!

X-Men ‘97 hits Disney+ on March 20!