‘X-Men ’97’ Creator Fired One Week Before Disney+ Premiere

Many are scratching their heads around why the "X-Men '97'" creator was fired one week before its premiere on Disney+.

Beau DeMayo, the showrunner and executive producer behind Disney+’s upcoming animated series, X-Men ’97, was fired ahead of the March 20 premiere, Variety reports.

DeMayo, 41, had already completed work on Seasons 1 and 2 of the series.

The Florida native has since deleted his Instagram account where he had been previewing artwork and answering fan questions about the animated series. There’s no word on why he was fired so close to the premiere.

DeMayo was already scheduling press around the show and making plans to attend the Hollywood premiere on March 13. He was even in talks about plans for Season 3.

However, insiders say he was fired early last week with his company email being deactivated and cast and crew being told he was no longer on the project.

X-Men ’97 is set to serve as a continuation of the popular X-Men: The Animated Series that aired on Fox Kids in the ’90s. Several original cast members were expected to return to the new series, which picks up right where the cartoon left off.

The original series ended with Professor Charles Xavier, who is believed to be dead, after his arch nemesis Magneto assumed control of his last will and testament. Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Jubilee, Beast, Gambit, Morph, Bishop and more have to battle new enemies in a world that fears them.

While it’s normal for writers to get replaced and shuffled around, firing one so close to a major Hollywood premiere is very unusual. Many Marvel premieres see a variety of screenwriters walk the red carpet even when their material is rewritten by other writers who are also on the carpet.

DeMayo was hired in November 2021 and shared how his background as a Black gay man who grew up as the adopted son to white parents with a Korean sister in the South helped spark his identification with the characters in the X-Men series.

DeMayo has other writing credits with Marvel and Disney+ including Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac, and the upcoming Blade film starring two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali.