It’s been over five months since X-Men ’97 debuted on Disney+, and the internet is still talking about how good this show is. It’s left a substantial mark on Marvel fandom and even garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Animated Program this year for the groundbreaking, Earth-shattering episode “Remember It.” We were fortunate enough to sit down with the nominated director of that episode, Emi/Emmett Yonemura.
It’s no exaggeration to say Yonemura’s work on ‘”Remember It” will go down as one of the single greatest half hours in any X-Men animated program. The action sequences in that episode were stellar, but what was all the more impressive was the emotional weight that episode packed, sending off one of our favorite characters in an explosively epic and heartbreaking way. Thematically and narratively, the impact of the episode and the heavy themes explored within assured fans of the original X-Men The Animated Series that X-Men ’97 wasn’t just some rehash or cash grab. But the series secured itself as even superior and more mature than its predecessor, and one of the finest animated superhero programs in history. Yonemura’s direction was at the forefront of that episode.
We were lucky enough to get 10 minutes of their time to geek out about X-Men all together, and discuss how they felt about their epic Emmy nomination. Here’s what they had to say:
NOC: This is my favorite show this year. It’s so amazing. I nerd out every single time I get to talk to someone involved with it. I had a chance to talk to Jake. I had a chance to talk to Lenore. And now it’s an honor to speak with you as well! I’m so lucky and grateful and blessed to be talking to you, honestly.
Yonemura: Thank you so much for your time! We really appreciate it too because we’re fans as well. So the fact that it reaches out to other fans a lot, it’s just so nice to hear that.
That’s the best thing about getting to interview other fans. Especially the ones that work on these shows, because at some point it stops being an interview and starts just being a conversation with a buddy that loves the same things you love!
Yonemura: Exactly!
Speaking of which, I wanted to ask, your history with X-Men, did you watch the animated series or read the comics? How did you get introduced to them before you started working on them and bringing them to life?
Yonemura: It was definitely the animated series… I remember watching X-Men The Animated Series, being like ‘What is this? These guys are so cool!’ I loved that it wasn’t this standard superhero show that we were seeing around that time. It was such thick soap opera drama. Characters who had these really cool outstanding powers. And I loved the Civil Rights themes behind it too. It was such a cool platform. And I love that, especially in the ‘90s, characters like Storm and Rogue were some of the strongest female representations on TV too. So it was cool. These people were doing these things right. And it wasn’t until high school where I had a buddy say, ‘what are you doing? You need to start reading the comics…’ And then I got really into the live action movies. I remember being so excited when the first one came out. The first showing I was immediately there with my friend from Maryland… It’s been a roller coaster, and it’s been so fun working with these characters!
There’s so much to unpack here, that I wanted to talk about. X-Men The Animated Series was also my gateway drug into the world of comics. My love of superheroes came from all of that. And when the movies came out, that was all we had. It may not have been 100% accurate but it was glorious and lived up to the spirit of what we love about X-Men.
Yonemura: Absolutely.
Now Cyclops is my personal favorite. Gambit is my second. I wanted to ask who your personal favorite was? I know you mentioned Storm and Rogue, but were there others?
Yonemura: I’m actually one of the few who loves Morph. Even from the original series. I loved that traumatized character who’s like “Am I good? Am I bad? On the fence?” I loved those storylines so much. So I really related to Morph a lot. So I’m glad I got to work on their new iteration this time. I’m also a super huge fan of Cyclops and Gambit. I’m always a sucker for the leader types and the romantic types that was like “I’m too cool for this.” They’re all so great!
I love how much you love Morph too. They’ve really become a character that represents what X-Men is all about. Here’s a character that can be anyone at anytime, but instead they’re themselves. From the original series to now being the first fully fledged non-binary character in the X-Men universe. Which I love. Can you speak to what it was like working on this character and foster that message and representation through them for this iteration of X-Men?
Yonemura: Absolutely! So one of the tricky things about our show being set in the ‘90s was that a lot of the terminology, especially for non-binary people like myself, wasn’t there. There was a little bit of common knowledge of the trans community, but there was a lot hidden. What’s great about a character like Morph is that even though we want to retroactively make them non-binary, we don’t necessarily want to put that lingo and that verbiage into our show because that’s not ‘90s grammar. However, it’s normalcy. Because trans and non-binary people have been around for all time. So what’s nice is going ‘well they’re also this.’ And this person has been there and always been part of the team and part of the family, and we’re just going to respect in the modern sense what their pronouns are just so we can start normalizing it in our modern day to the modern day audience. But we’re not taking anything away from the past. We’ve talked about how we see Morph as transmasc. So it’s perfect because it works for who they are in the past, and it’s a great representation because the reason why we now see Morph so much in changeling form, is because they can be open as themselves around their family. And in the public they can put their face on again. It’s nice to show a different side to a character that hasn’t changed a lot. We’re just putting a modern spin and not changing the language around it. So I love exploring that and think Morph is one of my favorites.
The beautiful thing about this is that we grew up with X-Men, of course, but a there’s a whole generation now tuning into ‘97, able to identify as “them/they.” Now non-binary fans can identify with Morph, and you guys did that! And that’s wonderful!
Yonemura: They’re so much fun! And everyone of course needs that wise-ass on the team who’s going to crack and make jokes. It makes sense because they’re going to be Wolverine’s best friend. We saw that with Deadpool and Wolverine recently that that combo works! And throw Morph into that mashup and it’ll be genius!
So much fun! I don’t suppose, and I know the people from Marvel are watching so I don’t want to get you into trouble, but at D23, we saw a few glimpses of Season 2: Polaris, Danger, the Grant Morrison-run costumes. Has there been anything in particular that’s been announced, that gets you pumped for Season 2?
Yonemura: Honestly, I’m glad they showed that. Because that’s really what gets me excited about Season 2. It’s really nice to have that out there so everyone can get excited with us. Because one of the hardest things about working on the show is we do it so far in advance before it airs… Holding on to Gambit in episode 5 for two years before it was even out there was one of the hardest things. So I’m just glad that there’s a little bit out there for you guys, and you guys got teased. And I can’t say more, but I’m very happy at what they released.
If there’s one last thing I want to talk about with you it’s about how monumental and how amazing “Remember It” was. This was an episode you directed. It garnered Emmy attention — you’re up for Outstanding Animated Program. And you guys deserve to win! I really thought Lenore was snubbed for a voice over nomination as well, because my heart broke when she said “I can’t feel you.” What was that like working on it and hearing about the nomination?
Yonemura: It was such a tough episode in the best of ways. We were working really closely with Beau, with the voice actors, and the whole team. The whole team are fans, and getting the episode to a place where you find the entire crew on the floor bawling their eyes out. And it’s like, if we’re a crew of fans, hopefully we’re doing something right, and we’re not going to immediately have all the fans want to kill us because we killed Gambit. But we broke people’s hearts. And it’s X-Men. And the fact that we can put a huge spotlight on how horrible genocide is, especially with everything going on in the world, it’s like, sadly, it still works, it’s still common day-to-day. We want people to feel what that’s like, especially if you’re coming from a place of privilege and safety. This is what discrimination feels like, and to be on the ground level with our heroes, we just want to pull on everyone’s heartstrings. Sometimes I put the episode on and it’s like I forget about all of the other things that happen in it. Cyclops being interviewed. Jean and Wolverine kiss. You put all that stuff aside because we’re there morning. And it meant a lot to get the nomination because it felt like we touched a lot of people. And that just feels good.
You guys deserve to win, in my opinion. And for me, you’re a shoo-in, because that was the single greatest half hour of television I’ve seen this year. It says a lot because for a show that has so many episodes, dating back to 1992, you guys not only succeeded it, but you surpassed it. And this single episode alone is the greatest episode of either X-Men or X-Men ’97 that I’ve ever seen and it’s because of your amazing work! I couldn’t be more thrilled and grateful to you as a fan, and to the whole crew. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you from all of us X-Men fans for making us feel again, love again, cry again, and all of that. Because this was superb and excellent, and I’m so grateful for it!
Yonemura: Thank you for the kind words!
It was a genuine honor and pleasure to geek out over X-Men with Yonemura, and we wish them and the entire crew of X-Men ’97 the best of luck at the Emmys this year!
All episodes of Season 1 of X-Men ’97 are now streaming on Disney+
