Every mutant in the world of the “X-Men” has some sort of physics-defying superpower, from Jean Grey’s (Jennifer Hale) peerless telekinetic prowess to Scott Summers’ (Ray Chase) laser eyes to Wolverine’s (Cal Dodd) claws that go snikt . But the power at the heart of the appeal of Disney and Marvel’s animated series “ X-Men ‘97 ” is the show’s ability to bridge time and make the current moment in animation feel like days of future past. “X-Men ‘97” is, in the words of head director and supervising producer Jake Castorena, meant to be a direct spiritual successor to “ X-Men: The Animated Series, ” the iconic 1992 series produced by Saban Entertainment that ran until 1996.
The new show, created by Beau DeMayo (who was subsequently fired from the project before it premiered), returns to many of the same characters, settings, and relationship dynamics, even to many of the same voice actors as the original. But the one thing the new Disney+ show can’t do is be made in the exact same way as the original, by the exact same team. So how does “X-Men ‘97” feel like a revival that has continuity with a project more than two decades in the past, one that did all of its transferring for broadcast via VHS tape? Castorena told IndieWire that he and the series’ directing team were constantly negotiating what felt too clean or digital-looking with the demands of doing animation that works in HD, that feels as epic and complex and visually arresting as th.