Marvel's X-Men '97 Producer Teases Possible Spider-Man Crossover and Cameos: "The Potential Is Always There"

In the '90s, X-Men: The Animated Series featured a menagerie of mutants from more than 30 years of Marvel's X-Men comics. Over its 76-episode run spanning five seasons, X-Men managed to include such fan-favorite characters as Cable, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Psylocke, who periodically appeared alongside the likes of series regulars Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, and more. There were more Marvel cameos — Spider-Man, Captain America, Carol Danvers, and Deadpool all made appearances, however brief — and crossovers with episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series. 

With the 1990s back in vogue in X-Men '97 — Marvel Animation's decades-later revival picking up where X-Men: The Animated Series left off — could the two shows ever come together? Spider-Man ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger: with Madame Web (Joan Lee) taking Peter Parker (Christopher Daniel Barnes) into the multiverse to reunite with his long-lost love, Mary Jane Watson (Saratoga Ballantine).

Here's what Brad Winderbaum, X-Men '97 executive producer and head of streaming, television and animation for Marvel Studios, told Men's Health when asked about a potential Spider-Man crossover:

"We have a great executive who works for us named Drew River, who manages the continuity of the timeline. And obviously that becomes more complex as you enter the multiverse saga and tracking multiple timelines. X-Men '97 fits into that '90s timeline, along with the OG series, as well as those concurrent '90s shows that would sometimes cross over with the X-Men. The potential is always there. Without going into spoiler territory, the original show does have a lot of fun cameos, and '97 carries that torch." 

X-Men: The Animated Series existed alongside such '90s cartoons as Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk, and a four-show crossover brought Spider-Man, Storm, Iron Man, and the Fantastic Four together in the three-part "Secret Wars" arc on Spider-Man.

Previously on X-Men... X-Men: The Animated Series Recap ⊗ X-Men '97 Adapts Major Storm Storyline from the Comics ⊗ What Happened to Professor X on X-Men '97? ⊗ X-Men '97 Premiere Recap ⊗

John Semper, who served as producer and head writer on the Spider-Man animated series that ran for 65 episodes between 1994 and 1998, recently announced his interest in a Spider-Man '98, tweeting: "All they [Marvel] have to do is call me. I'm here, and I'd certainly consider doing it."

New episodes of Marvel's X-Men '97 premiere Wednesdays on Disney+.