Marvel Director Reveals They Couldn't Use The X-MEN in Recent Series

The second season of What If...? came out on Disney+ over the course of nine days last month. Each episode had a memorable new take on a familiar character, but there weren't any big cameos. One character who wasn't there was Spider-Man, who had been the star of season 1's "What If... Zombies?!"

When Disney and Fox merged, Marvel Studios brought the X-Men back into the fold. Later this year, X-Men '97, the follow-up to X-Men: The Animated Series, will come out on Disney+. So why were there no monsters in the second season of What If...?

"They were pretty much off the table," director Bryan Andrews tells ComicBook.com (Toonado.com). "They're like, 'We got to do it first in live action and then you get to do it.' And we're like, 'Ah, man!' We would've loved to have played with all kinds of toys. But there's limitations."

We're not surprised that Wolverine and Magneto weren't allowed to be a part of What If...? since the show takes place in the Multiverse of the MCU and having them appear in animation first would make their live-action appearance less powerful (and could confuse casual fans).

X-Men '97 is different because it's a straight follow-up to X-Men: The Animated Series. This is why Marvel Studios is okay with continuing with the revival without it having an effect on the live-action movies.