X-Men ’97 just found its new writer for Season 3, and they make perfect sense

X-Men ’97 Season 3 has got a new writer to replace Beau DeMayo, and it’s someone with experience in the animated Marvel world.

Matthew Chauncey has now been confirmed as the writer for X-Men ’97 Season 3, replacing DeMayo, who parted ways with Marvel Studios ahead of the animated series’ premiere in March 2024.

Chauncey is known for his work on What If…?, another animated Marvel TV show. As a writer and producer, he’s certainly an experienced creative in the realm of Marvel animation. All this makes him an understandable choice for the upcoming Season 3. He also worked on the live-action Marvel superhero show, Ms. Marvel.

X-Men ’97 premiered in March 2024, 27 years after the original ’90s animation ended. DeMayo wrote the first and second seasons, but left the show for reasons that still remain unclear.

Only one day ahead of the Season 1 premiere, it was announced that DeMayo wouldn’t continue working on the show. Marvel Studios didn’t comment on the unexpected exit, and there’s seen been no confirmed reason behind the parting of ways.

Insider Jeff Sneider alleged on The Hot Mic podcast, “I think he was probably difficult to work with and getting on everyone’s last nerve, and I don’t think the OnlyFans stuff helped.” The latter comments refer to DeMayo’s account on OnlyFans, which Sneider claims Disney didn’t approve of.

While DeMayo did complete work on Season 2 scripts prior to his exit, Deadline reports that those have been revised.

On the fan front, not everyone is pleased with the news of DeMayo’s successor. Even the less negative comments are still nervous about where the show could go following the success and popularity of the first season.

As one user wrote on X/Twitter: “Getting a white guy who wrote the abysmal What If? show to write for the real world nuance driven, POC and LGBTQ pov stories for team of diverse characters is certainly a choice.”

“This guy has insanely big shoes to fill, I don’t envy that position at all. Just please keep giving us more peak X-Men,” said another.

“Certainly there are better options. My thing with hiring a writer seen as ‘safe’ by the studio is that it’ll feel exactly like everything else. And being DIFFERENT is what made ’97 and the X-Men as a whole special,” wrote a third.

For more, check out our guide on all Marvel Comics & movie references explained in X-Men ’97. We’ve also got a feature on why X-Men ’97 just set up a terrifying, nearly unstoppable villain, as well as a guide to all the Marvel movies in order.