X-Men 97 wasn’t bad, right? Well, you might be sad to learn that the behind-the-scenes process seemed a bit messy, which somewhat describes Marvel’s recent common situation, except this time no one seems interested in reconciliation. Beau DeMayo, a producer on seasons 1 and 2 who was fired some time ago, has now promised to shed more light on what really happened after Marvel and Disney spoke out about the “shocking” findings in August.
DeMayo has now told OnlyFans (yes, really) via Deadline that “Marvel, run by Kevin Feige, and Disney, led by Bob Iger, are both liars.” Buckle up, because this saga is likely to be a long one.
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“The rumors being spread about me online are lies, they are offensive, but more concerningly, they are a smear campaign designed to discredit my credibility in order to cover up egregious misconduct from some of the X-Men 97 crew all the way up to the top brass at Marvel Studios,” De Maio said in a nearly 30-minute response to the latest allegations uploaded to his OnlyFans account.
This back-and-forth between the creative who has worked on other shows like Moon Knight and Netflix’s The Witcher and Marvel Studios (whose animation division is now called Marvel Animation) has been a hotly debated topic since the first season of X-Men ’97 aired in March to critical acclaim and fan popularity. What could have been another major, unblemished victory for the House of M quickly turned into another battleground, and it’s hard to discuss the craft of this production without addressing the hoopla surrounding DeMayo.
Initially, De Maio said he was fired in part because of some LGBTQ art he shared online. Later, rumors circulated within Disney about photos allegedly sent to colleagues on the 1997 X-Men set, as well as allegations of being too close to others on the 1997 X-Men set. De Maio is now willing to admit that “personality clashes happen, especially in a creative environment like Hollywood,” and that he knows he’s “not everyone’s cup of tea.” The latter may be true, as he also left a trail of drama after leaving the writers’ room on The Witcher.
Deadline’s article is well worth a read, as it spends some time explaining what happens next, and where both teams stand now. This doesn’t bode well for anyone involved, and with all the bad things that have been happening to Marvel lately, it’s hard to imagine the company closing this chapter without more criticism (whether deserved or not) as easily as it did with the Jonathan Majors incident.
X-Men ’97 Season 2 is expected to be released as early as late 2025. Season 3 is also in active development.
