At long last, X-Men ‘97 Season 2’s premiere is about to hit the 2026 TV schedule and reacquaint fans with Charles Xavier and his band of mutant do-gooders. Teasers for the new episodes seem to indicate that fans are in for a fun and emotional ride, which will feature plenty of En Sabah Nur (a.k.a. Apocalypse). While the hype amongst fans of the legacy sequel series still seems to be intact, it’s still hard to believe its hiatus has been so lengthy. Well, like I am, fans may be eager to know the creative team has learned some lessons. X-Men ‘97’s first season premiered back in March 2024 and, at that time, it was already reported that a second season was in the works. So those new installments are now coming more than two years after Season 1, which is definitely a long stretch of time. But fear not, true believers, as EP Larry Houston shared some good news in regard to the upcoming third season, which was announced this past fall. Fans should not expect long breaks between future seasons, and Houston explained the reason for that to The Direct:Luckily, the production problems won’t occur again. There was a huge gap of time between [season] one and two. They’ve learned their lessons, so with [seasons] three and four, that won’t happen again… That was a one-off.Houston – who produced X-Men: The Animated Series (the direct predecessor of ‘97) – didn’t specify the nature of those “production problems.” However, it’s possible that he may have been alluding to the firing of series creator and ex-showrunner/writer Beau DeMayo. Shortly before Season 1 debuted, DeMayo was let go after an investigation into his workplace conduct. That not only led to a feud between DeMayo and Marvel Studios, but he was also replaced with Matthew Chauncey, leading to episodes also being rewritten.More on X-Men '97I’m Excited For X-Men ’97 Season 2 To Arrive Later This Year, But The Latest Casting Update Is DisappointingGiven the behind-the-scenes changes, I can understand the gap between Seasons 1 and 2. Still, I’m more than relieved that fans like myself won’t have to wait as long for the third and fourth seasons to arrive down the road. Lengthy hiatuses have unfortunately become a common element within this streaming-dominated entertainment landscape, and that applies to both live-action and animated shows. While it’s understandable that obstacles arise and that production can take time, I’m glad to see a creative team making it a goal to produce new seasons as swiftly as possible. What’s made the wait for this new season of the critically acclaimed X-Men ’97 particularly excruciating is the fact that there are some key storylines that need to be resolved. The ‘97 Season 1 finale ends with Professor X and co. getting scattered across different time periods, while only a handful of their cohorts remain in the present. The episode also sets up the return of the aforementioned Apocalypse, and it seems to subtly hint at the resurrection of Gambit as one of his Horsemen.Disney+: from $11.99 a month w/ ad-supported planCheck out X-Men '97 on Disney+ alongside a host of other great series. Grab the ad-supported plan, which costs $11.99 a month, or go ad-free and pay $18.99 per month. Customers can also save 16% by pre-paying $189.99 for a year.View DealFans seem to have high hopes for this latest crop of episodes and, hopefully, the collective season will live up to the hype of its predecessor. And, if that does prove to be the case, at the end of the season, fans will be able to take comfort in knowing that the wait for future episodes won’t be too long. Grab a Disney+ subscription to check out X-Men ‘97’s three-episode premiere, which drops on Wednesday, July 1. And, while you wait for the upcoming Marvel show, catch up on (or rewatch) the first season.