Alongside Raimi’s Spider-Man movies and the Batman movies, X-Men was one of the few superhero productions to see success in the early 2000s. It starred Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Patrick Stewart as Professor X.
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But the franchise saw a mix of hits and flops across the years, with X2 being its most successful release. X-Men again saw a slump despite the soft reboot having a new cast and new storyline after the well-received X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Mutants enter the MCU
In a bid to expand its roster, Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, allowing Kevin Feige to add mutants to the MCU. We first saw a mutant feature in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, where Professor X appeared as a member of the Illuminati.
Later Ms. Marvel, played by Iman Vellani was also confirmed to be a mutant in her mini-series, making her the first confirmed mutant in Earth-616 of the MCU. She was originally an Inhuman in the comics, but the studio decided to change her backstory to introduce mutants.
Read more: ‘They doing Cyclops dirty’: Marvel’s X-Men ’97 Will Have Reportedly Have Magneto As Its Leader
This acquisition also allowed Kevin Feige to produce the continuation series of the much-loved X-Men: The Animated Series, called X-Men ’97 on Disney+. But getting the rights to the show wasn’t enough to get the series off the ground, the theme song created a new nightmare for Marvel.
The cost for the X-Men theme song
Giving clarity over the issue, X-Men: The Animated Series writer/developer Eric Lewald described the trouble they faced while getting the rights to the theme song from the iconic animated show at Pennsylvania’s Steel City convention, he stated:
“[The X-Men: The Animated Series theme song] wasn’t a done deal necessarily when they were producing the new show. I think a secondary person had the rights to the music, so it was a negotiation for them. Obviously, you can’t do the new show without that song. But the guy selling it knew the same thing, so I’m sure it was a heavy price.”
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Since the signing of the big cheque by Kevin Feige for the theme song, it has been used when Professor X entered the screen in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and for Kamala Khan’s mutant reveal in Episode 6 of Ms. Marvel.
X-Men ’97 is expected to premiere on Disney+ in 2023.
Source: The Direct
