Five months after Marvel Studios suddenly fired X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo, revelations behind the scenes are finally coming out. On Thursday, DeMayo posted on his X a screenshot of a piece of art as himself as a shirtless, speedos-sporting Cyclops. DeMayo said he posted it for Pride Month back in June, and the following day, June 13th, Marvel sent him a letter saying he would be stripped of his credit on X-Men ’97 Season 2. He then claimed this was part of a troubling pattern he encountered working at Marvel on X-Men ’97 and Blade.

A few hours later, Marvel Studios released an official statement to The Hollywood Reporter regarding DeMayo’s firing. Marvel said DeMayo was fired from X-Men ’97 and Blade due to an internal investigation that was said to be of an “egregious” nature. While no details of the cause of the termination or the internal reviews have surfaced yet, sources told THR it involved “sexual misconduct.”

An agreement was reportedly reached between both DeMayo and Marvel over the issue of his posts about the show but, following this agreement, he mentioned how he had not received an invitation to attend the Primetime Emmy Awards despite X-Men ’97 being nominated for Outstanding Animated Program. In light of the breeches, his credit for season two was removed. Marvel Studios said:

“Mr. DeMayo was terminated in March 2024 following an internal investigation. Given the egregious nature of the findings, we severed ties with him immediately, and he has no further affiliation with Marvel.”

DeMayo has since shared coverage of the story with the caption“The truth will be revealed. After their Disney Plus disaster, Marvel wants to mislead with alleged contract breaches over tweets. It’s tragic it’s come to this but unsurprising. Stay tuned,” as well as saying that this is “Disney-Marvel’s usual playbook.”

The Drama Behind the Scenes of X-Men ‘97

Beau DeMayo was fired from X-Men ’97 on March 12, 2024, the day before the world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and just two weeks before the first two episodes aired on Disney+. Following X-Men ’97’s rave reviews, some of the best for any Marvel project ever, fans’ curiosity about what exactly happened behind the scenes of X-Men ’97 grew. Marvel Studios Assembled episode on X-Men ’97 premiered on Disney+ on May 22, 2024, and the special notably didn’t feature any interviews with Beau DeMayo and seemed to cut out any mention of his involvement in the series at all.

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While DeMayo was fired from X-Men ’97, he would frequently engage with fans on social media to talk about each episode as they aired and, even after it concluded, celebrated the critical praise it achieved. He recently shared his pitch for how to handle a Wesley Snipes-led Blade 4 following the actors’ return to the character in Deadpool & Wolverine, and following DeMayo’s work on Marvel Studios’ own Blade reboot. It is likely the feud between DeMayo and Marvel/Disney will only heat up eve more in the following days.

X-Men ’97
Season 1 is available to stream on Disney+.

X-Men ’97 4.5/5 Release Date March 20, 2024 Cast Jennifer Hale , Chris Potter , Ray Chase , George Buza , Catherine Disher , JP Karliak Seasons 1 Studio Marvel Studios Franchise Marvel Expand