The X-Men ‘97 showrunner has confirmed that Deadpool was not allowed to appear in the series, and the news has left fans wondering what could have been.
Despite many mutants popping up in Marvel’s latest animated series, it appears that Marvel Studios prohibited the X-Men ’97 team from using The Merc with the Mouth. The show’s co-creator and writer Beau De Mayo broke the news via Twitter when a fan asked him: "Where is Deadpool at?" to which DeMayo replied, "Yeah, he was off-limits."
"Ohhh that’s a real bummer," replied one fan, while another tried to make sense of Deadpool’s absence, "Makes sense since they replaced Cassandra Nova doing the Genosha Genocide with Bastion." However, some fans still remain hopeful the Wildcard will show up in the future, as one put: "Keyword ‘WAS’."
Although DeMayo didn't follow up with an explanation for Wade Wilson’s absence, we are guessing it might have something to do with the impending release of Deadpool 3, marking Deadpool’s introduction to the MCU. The project, starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, includes X-Men cameos of its own and introduces more comic book characters such as Cassandra Nova to the Cinematic Universe.
It is not clear if this is the reason for Deadpool’s lack of involvement in X-Men ‘97, but it will be interesting to see whether the antihero will show up in season 2 after the movie releases. The good news is that X-Men '97 season 2 is already confirmed to arrive on Disney Plus, so we hopefully will not have long to wait for Deadpool to make his sophomore season debut, if he does at all.
As X-Men ‘97, season 1 comes to an end on May 15 with its tenth episode titled 'Tolerance is Extinction Part 3', the third part in its fantastical three-part finale. Check out our reviews for the first two parts X-Men '97 episode 8 and X-Men '97 episode 9.
X-Men '97 is available to watch on Disney Plus. Deadpool 3 hits theaters on July 25 in the UK, and July 26 in the US. For more on the series, check out our guide to all of the X-Men ‘97 Easter eggs and cameos you may have missed.
