Marvel Animation’s X-Men ’97 returns to Disney+ on July 1 with the first three episodes of Season 2, dropping at midnight Pacific time — 3 a.m. Eastern. The animated series, which earned the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program in 2025, left its mutant heroes scattered across different time periods at the end of Season 1. Season 2 opens with that unresolved story, under the title “Days of Past Future” — a deliberate nod to the classic Days of Future Past comic arc.

The second and third episodes are titled “A Force To Be Reckoned With” and “Rise of Apocalypse — Part 1.” After the three-episode premiere, Season 2 follows a weekly Wednesday release schedule through August 12, running nine episodes total — one fewer than Season 1’s ten.

Where the Story Picks Up

Season 1 ended with the X-Men team broken apart and thrown across different eras after a catastrophic confrontation. Season 2 follows their attempts to get back while “suspicious foes and new strains of mutant intolerance are on the rise” in the 1990s timeline. The Apocalypse title in the third episode signals the arrival of one of the X-Men’s most formidable antagonists from the original animated series, returning the show to some of its 1990s source material.

The voice cast returns largely intact: Ross Marquand as Professor X, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Lenore Zann as Rogue, and George Buza as Beast. The Season 2 trailer hinted at a possible return for Gambit, the character whose fate in Season 1 drew the biggest emotional response from viewers.

What Season 1 Built

Season 1 of X-Men ’97 was one of the most talked-about animated shows in years. It combined the look of the 1990s X-Men: The Animated Series with writing that was far more ambitious than most viewers expected — dealing with grief, identity, trauma, and political violence alongside the action. The Genosha massacre episode in particular became the subject of wide critical and audience discussion when it aired in 2024.

The Emmy win confirmed what the audience reaction had already suggested: the show had earned serious attention, not just nostalgia. Season 2 is coming in with high expectations. A tighter nine-episode run and the early appearance of Apocalypse suggest the writers are not easing into things.

How to Watch

Episodes 1-3 of X-Men ’97 Season 2 drop on Disney+ on July 1 at midnight Pacific / 3 a.m. Eastern / 8 a.m. BST. New episodes then arrive every Wednesday. A Disney+ subscription is required, with no additional cost beyond the base plan. All 10 episodes of Season 1 are currently available on Disney+ for anyone who hasn’t yet watched them.

Season 2 is Avengers: Doomsday’s direct predecessor in the Marvel Animation timeline, which adds a layer of significance to what happens with the mutants between now and next year’s theatrical release.

With Apocalypse teased in the third episode title and the team still scattered across time, X-Men ’97 Season 2 isn’t wasting any time getting back to business on July 1.

References

Disney+. (2026). X-Men ’97 Season 2 Coming to Disney+ July 1, 2026. Published 2026.

TechRadar. (2026). X-Men ’97 season 2 episodes 1-3 release date and launch time: when does the hit Marvel TV show return on Disney+? Published June 2026.

Screen Rant. (2026). Disney Officially Confirms A 3-Part X-Men Comeback Ahead Of Avengers: Doomsday. Published June 2026.