X-Men: The Animated Series was a fan-favourite for many. Growing up watching the animated show on Saturday mornings with my dad, I was excited when it was announced that the series would return. Streaming on Disney+ with a new animation style and name, X-Men ‘97, viewers are in for a great time with the latest show.
Leading up to the two-episode premiere, I spoke with Supervising Producer and Head Director Jake Castorena. Castorena has quite the resume, having been a storyboard artist for a plethora of animated projects, including Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, Star Trek: Prodigy, Justice League and the Fatal Five, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He has also directed animated projects such as The Death of Superman and Justice League Action, just to name a few.
Since Castorena has worked on so many animated projects in the past, I wanted to know what it was about the X-Men that made him want to tackle the mutant superheroes as his next project.
Check out the full interview with Jake Castorena below:
“Oh, man, that’s an awesome question. I mean, aside from having all my toys and getting to play with them, too. Yeah, this this is a good question to answer because it appeals to me in so many ways as an artist and as a storyteller. I love working on stuff that is entertaining and that is fun to chew on for action and visuals. But I also, as an artist, it’s imperative as artists for us to look around the room and see who’s not being recognized and do our best to give voices, right? That’s X-Men in a nutshell. You know, the X-Men always is and always will be and always has to be an allegory for prejudice. When you take that away, it’s no longer the X-Men, and knowing that fundamental truth about what the IP is – and let alone not just it being excellent, but it being this X-Men show, right? That didn’t shy away from tackling stuff like, you know, Beauty and the Beast. You know, Beast and falling in love with a blind woman and he cured her sight. And her dad’s like, ‘No dirty mutant’s going to touch or fix my daughter.’ And you go, ‘Whattt? This is a Saturday morning kid show.’ But you learn about a grander message. Yeah, sign me up.
When I knew that this was the show they were doing, how can I not want to, you know? It’s just something that, as an artist, that speaks to that grander stuff that’s going on outside our window. Something that is still good, delivers the X-Men, delivers the nostalgia, delivers the action, delivers the drama, but also has something to say. And so yeah, that was a big reason why I was like, ‘Yes, please,’” Castorena said.
In addition to the prominent and relevant themes in various X-Men media, another element of the X-Men ‘97 is the nostalgia factor. I asked Castorena about what it was like to find a balance between nostalgia and also having it feel fresh to both old and new fans.
“See, that’s a great question. Because at the end of the day, that was all meticulously planned by everyone on this team, so that is not an accident. From the script phase and from the story bible phase, Beau DeMayo and team they had that written down. They knew where they wanted to go for that. But, you know, my job once I was brought on board was to take the words and the dialogue and the meanings of that stuff and to help visually invoke that and just help elevate it.”
Lastly, the question every X-Men fan must ask —perhaps one of the most challenging questions of all—is who their favourite member of the X-Men team is.
“I do, but I think I want to just start running people for a loop and just start saying, Leech. [laughs] No, but yeah, my love of Storm started with the Konami game. Her tornado power it was great. That’s what got me to love her more and get more into comics. But yeah, it’s always a toss-up between Storm, Gambit and Wolverine,” Castorena shared.
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