X-Men '97 director shares his thoughts on show’s animated movie—"If love and demand is there from the fandom”
Fans of X-Men '97 series might have even more to look forward to, as directors Emi Yonemura, Chase Conley, and Jake Castorena hope to make an animated film based on the same. The showrunners appeared in an interview with Inverse, where Chase Conley spoke of his wish to bring more to the X-Men '97 universe beyond 30-minute episodes.
“If the love and the demand is there from the fandom, and Marvel wants to let us do it, it'd be great to bring these X-Men, these characters, this style, and this work to the silver screen,” Conley ementioned.
The ongoing popularity of X-Men '97 has demonstrated that the love for 1990s superhero cartoons has not faded in the least.
X-Men '97 director expresses interest in making a big-budget film for theaters
The success of X-Men '97 lay in the fact that the writers adopted popular comic book storylines for the screen, including the appearance of the Goblin Queen and the love affair between Rogue and Magneto, among others. However, Director Conley hopes to go even bigger than that, aiming to accomplish more than what can be in 30-minute episodes.
In his interview with Inverse, Conley expressed interest in upping the budget and effort put into the sequel or spinoff movie to X-Men '97. In his words:
"First off, it would be a slam dunk. I think that would absolutely be something the audience would want to see, and we would want to be a part of."
Conley affirmed his belief that having a dedicated crew of people working on the story for a longer period can bring out a product that is worthy of being released in theaters. In doing so, the animators would be able to exercise their full creativity while drawing and illustrating each shot.
X-Men '97 director hopes to do what Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Spider-Man did
Director Emic Yonemura mentioned that he has faith that the proposed success of the X-Men '97 movie might place it on par with Sony Pictures' Spider-Man films (which coincidentally is another Marvel property that earned massive mainstream following) as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.
Yonemura's vision extends to encompass seven series and one movie, imagining a possible future where an X-Men '97 franchise is similar to what the Spider-Verse would be like. As such, Yonemura said to Inverse:
"One of our influences was ‘80s and ‘90s Japanese animation. Akira. Ghost in the Shell. Those levels. It's like: Hey, you want to give us the money and budget to do that for you? But for X-Men ‘97? Gladly.”
As Castorena stated, the success of such an endeavor would undoubtedly depend on public demand. If fans hope to see more from their beloved characters, especially in the storyline that X-Men '97 envisions, the directors hope to bring the characters, style and storylines to the silver screen for a much wider appeal.