The shocking finale of X-Men ’97 Season 2 may have brought Gambit back to the good side, but it came at the tragic cost of Nightcrawler’s life. However, according to supervising producer Jake Castorena, X-Men ’97 Season 3 might end up reversing his death.
Jake Castorena suggests Nightcrawler’s death in X-Men ‘97 Season 2 could be undone
In a recent interview with ScreenRant‘s Andy Behbakht, Castorena confirmed that, as of now, Nightcrawler is dead in the X-Men ’97 timeline. However, he opened the door for his potential return in the revival’s third season by citing characters’ trajectories in comic books.
“First and foremost, I will say: is anyone ever really dead in comics? Is anyone ever really dead?” the producer asked, adding, “Make no mistake, Nightcrawler is dead. You’ll just have to watch Season 3 to see how it all may play out. That’s what I can say.”
Nightcrawler’s death occurred in the season finale of X-Men ‘97 Season 2 after he renegotiated with the Celestial Eson to spare Rogue. Kurt offered himself as a sacrifice to save Rogue and restore Gambit to his former self.
Despite his tragic fate, it doesn’t seem impossible for Nightcrawler to return in X-Men ‘97 Season 3. For instance, Gambit died a hero’s death in the first season of X-Men ’97 during the mutant genocide on the island nation of Genosha. However, he returned in the first episode of the second season as a brainwashed horseman of death under Apocalypse.
Castorena also shed some light on the development of the next two seasons of X-Men ‘97. “We are currently working on seasons 3 and 4 right now,” he noted. “We actually just shipped our season finale for Season 3 to go get animated, and we are already having animation come back for the first few episodes. Meanwhile, we are well underway in storyboards and animatics for Season 4.”
While X-Men ’97 Season 3 does not have an official release date at the moment, fans can expect the next installment to premiere on Disney+ sometime in 2027.
