Just in case there was any confusion about this past week’s episode of X-Men ’97, “Remember It“: Gambit and Magneto are dead. But as the show’s supervising producer Jake Castorena puts it, they weren’t always on the chopping block.
“The decision was never finite, like, ‘We’re doing this, we’re killing so and so and that’s it,'” Castorena said in a recent interview with ScreenRant. “This might scare fans, but it changed a bit, it bounced around on who it would be because for sake of story, for sake of pushing character arcs and tying everything in, based on where story trajectory was going.”
In case you missed the episode, well, first of all, spoilers up top. Sorry. Second, after traveling to Genosha to oversee the mutant island’s induction into the United Nations, Rogue (Lenore Zann), Gambit (AJ LoCascio), and Magneto (Matthew Waterson) are caught in the middle of an attack by a Wild Sentinel Master Mold. In the process, the Sentinal destroys most of the island and kills a ton of characters including Madelyn Pryor and Moira MacTaggert. Magneto dies protecting the sewer-dwelling Morlocks. And Gambit dies heroically destroying the Sentinel. The episode ends with Rogue sobbing over his body as the show cuts to black.
“Ultimately, obviously, we landed on Gambit and Magneto,” Castorena continued. “We know someone, a.k.a. Rogue, who is, especially in our show, who was very much intertwined with both.”
And yes, both characters are dead. Sure there’s plenty of resurrection that happens in the X-Men comic books. Magneto has been resurrected and cloned. Gambit has died in alternate timelines including Age of Apocalypse and Marvel Zombies, though never in the main timeline. And with time travelers like Cable showing up, there are ways to bring them back. As is, though, Castorena not only emphasized Gambit and Magneto are dead, but that fans should focus on what’s next.
“I implore audiences to ponder and be curious about what that would do to someone of Roque’s caliber and potentially, I would say focus less on what we have lost and I would focus on more who or what lies ahead,” Castorena continued. “Gambit and Magneto are dead and we’ll have to watch the series unfold to further understand what those consequences are going to be for not just for our team but for potentially for the rest of the world.”
X-Men ’97 Season 1 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
X-Men ’97 doesn’t have a one-a-day schedule like What If…? Season 2, or all-at-once like Echo. Instead, the series is getting a more traditional release schedule of two on premiere day, then one a week thereafter.
The release time is also typical. Versus what has now become a run-of-the-mill primetime “early” release for big movies and TV shows, new episodes of X-Men ’97 will be released on Wednesdays at 3 am ET / Midnight PT.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Marvel’s X-Men ’97 Season 1, and when they premiere:
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 1 – “To Me, My X-Men”
- Wednesday, March 20, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 2 – “Mutant Liberation Begins”
- Wednesday, March 27, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 3 – “Fire Made Flesh”
- Wednesday, April 3, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 4 – “Motendo / Lifedeath – Part 1”
- Wednesday, April 10, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 5 – “Remember It”
- Wednesday, April 17, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 6 – “Lifedeath – Part 2″
- Wednesday, April 24, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 7 – “Bright Eyes”
- Wednesday, May 1, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 8 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 1”
- Wednesday, May 8, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 9 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 2”
- Wednesday, May 15, 2024: X-Men ’97 Season 1, Episode 10 – “Tolerance Is Extinction, Part 3” *Season Finale*
“Castorena not only emphasized Gambit and Magneto are dead, but that fans should focus on what’s next.”
Welp, that didn’t age well 1 week later. Your source lied to you
Yep! Sure did!