The behind-the-scenes drama at Marvel Studios continues to escalate as former X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo has publicly accused Marvel boss Kevin Feige of being “annoyed” at the success of the animated series. In a scathing post on X, DeMayo alleges that Feige deliberately distanced himself from the project, only to express frustration when it became one of Marvel’s highest-rated releases on Rotten Tomatoes.
DeMayo Alleges Feige Gave No Support to X-Men ’97
In his post, DeMayo claims he was informed by a Marvel Studios employee that Feige was displeased by the show’s positive reception and its comparisons to X2: X-Men United, a film Feige himself co-produced early in his career.
Man, talk about never meet your heroes. I was informed by an employee at @marvelstudios that Kevin Fiege’s response to the success of the show, and it being their highest rated project on @RottenTomatoes, was that he would prefer if it wasn’t being used as a referendum on the…
— Beau DeMayo (@BeauDemayo) March 18, 2025
“I was informed by an employee at @marvelstudios that Kevin Feige’s response to the success of the show, and it being their highest rated project on @RottenTomatoes, was that he would prefer if it wasn’t being used as a referendum on the MCU’s failures, and his annoyance that people hold it up to X2,” DeMayo said on X. “Kevin did not give #xmen97 any of his attention. I met with him to pitch it and was hired and never got a note from him afterwards at all, and now he’s annoyed it did well without me and the crew needing him.”
DeMayo further revealed that Marvel Studios declined to organize a wrap party for the X-Men ’97 crew after production wrapped, leaving him to personally foot the bill to celebrate the team’s work.
“Sorta disgusting disrespect and ego,” he said. “Explains why I had to pay for the wrap party for the crew out of my pocket bc Marvel declined to honor the crew’s hard work. Never meet your heroes.”
Tensions Between DeMayo and Marvel Studios
This isn’t the first time Beau DeMayo has publicly clashed with Marvel leadership. As covered in our previous articles, DeMayo was fired prior to the premiere of X-Men ’97 amid unproven allegations that he sent inappropriate photos to male staffers—allegations DeMayo has categorically denied. In a lengthy video statement posted last month, DeMayo claimed the allegations were part of a smear campaign orchestrated by Marvel Studios to discredit him and distract from deeper misconduct within the company.
Beau DeMayo via Cool YouTube Guy YouTube
“These allegations of egregious misconduct are false,” he said. “The rumors being spread around me online are lies and they are offensive. But more concerning is that they’re a smear campaign designed to discredit my credibility in order to cover up egregious, prejudicial misconduct stretching from select crew members on X-Men ’97 all the way to the top of Marvel Studios.”
Marvel’s Creative Interference Alleged by DeMayo
In that same video, DeMayo also accused Marvel executives of attempting to radically alter X-Men ’97’s tone and content. He alleged that certain executives resented his efforts to stay faithful to the comics and the original animated series, instead pushing to reshape the show into something more ideologically aligned with modern narratives.
“When I called these things out, they pivoted to attacking my talent, accusing me of being too much of a fanboy,” he said. “They openly resented me fighting for the fans fighting for the comics. They accused me of playing karaoke with those comics and repeatedly I was told by these individuals that we should be doing our own version of X-Men, writing new stories and not adapting those written by ‘old white men’—by which I could only assume they were referencing individuals like Stan Lee and Chris Claremont.”
Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL
DeMayo recounted some of the creative suggestions he rejected, including one where Marvel wanted Jubilee depicted using gang signs and firing plasmoids in the shape of middle fingers.
“These individuals would then attempt to sabotage me on my job, painting me as abusive when I declined to make wholesale changes to characters,” he said, “when I declined to have Jubilee fire plasmoids from her mouth or make gang signs or paint the sky with plasmoids in the shape of middle fingers.”
Pointing to Disney’s Feminist Agenda
DeMayo also took issue with what he described as Marvel’s feminist agenda and hostility toward male characters, particularly Cyclops.
In his video statement, he recalled: “It is wrong for an artist on the show to repeatedly denounce all men as jerks and to accuse me of failing the cause because I’m keeping a ‘jerk’ like Cyclops as leader of the team.”
(L-R): Morph (voiced by JP Karliak), Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith), Gambit (voiced by AJ LoCascio), Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase), Rogue (voiced by Lenore Zann), Wolverine (voiced by Cal Dodd), Bishop (voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith), Beast (voiced by George Buza) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL
This complaint underscores a broader critique that has been levied at Disney and Marvel Studios in recent years—namely, the studio’s emphasis on “girl power” stories at the expense of established male heroes.
Feige’s Post-Endgame Struggles
DeMayo’s allegation that Feige is annoyed by the success of X-Men ’97 comes at a time when Marvel Studios has faced increased criticism over its post-Endgame output. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s recent projects—including Eternals, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,The Marvels, and even the recently released Captain America: Brave New World—have been met with declining box office returns, mixed critical reception, and growing fan fatigue.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 11: Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios speaks onstage during the Walt Disney Studios presentation at Cinemacon in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 11, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
With X-Men ’97 emerging as Marvel’s highest-rated project in years, and fans drawing favorable comparisons to classic entries like X2, it’s plausible that Feige’s frustration stems from the show’s independent success outside of the MCU’s interconnected narrative, and outside of his direct creative control.
Even Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld has recently fired shots at Feige, alleging dismissive behavior toward him during the premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine—further suggesting unrest behind the scenes at Marvel.
What’s Next for X-Men ’97?
Following DeMayo’s dismissal, Marvel Studios announced that X-Men ’97 Seasons 2 and 3 are in development, with Matt Chauncy stepping in as the new showrunner. Reports indicate the second season has undergone revisions, though no official release date has been confirmed.
(L-R): Forge (voiced by Gil Birmingham), Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith), Beast (voiced by George Buza), and Morph (voiced by JP Karliak) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.
DeMayo, meanwhile, remains at odds with Marvel, with his lawsuit against the studio ongoing. He has hinted he may reveal more details—including potentially naming names at the top of Marvel—when the court date approaches.
One thing is clear: the friction between DeMayo and Marvel Studios is far from over, and X-Men ’97’s success continues to highlight deeper tensions brewing inside Disney’s once-invincible superhero empire.
How do you feel about what DeMayo alleged about Feige? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
What success? ‘97 basically just defiled the corpse of the original X-Men show. No one should feel pride in taking credit for that.
Relative to everything else Disney Marvel keeps putting out, it’s a success. By any real world measure it’s just another failure. But Feige and others in Hollywoke don’t live in the real world.
IDGAF what DeMayo has to say about anything. The man lost any respect I might have had for him by using woke to advance himself. Then he has the gall to think anyone’s going to suddenly have pity when it turns on him. No forgiveness without genuine efforts to prove change.
No surprise when the woke use woke to advance. It’s not like they can get there on talent.