X-Men ’97 was met with a wave of positive critical reception ahead of its premiere to Disney+ subscribers, and now more than halfway into Season 1’s run, it’s safe to classify it as one of the best Disney+ TV shows. The X-Men: The Animated Series revival also comes at a time when mutants have slowly been seeded throughout the Marvel movies in order and tie-in TV shows. Eventually there will come a time when the MCU has its own X-Men team, and if that roster happens to include Rogue and Gambit, X-Men ’97 voice actors Lenore Zann and A.J. LoCascio have shared with CinemaBlend what they’d like to see from these versions of the characters.
While my recent chat with Zann and LoCascio was obviously centered around X-Men ’97, which included them sharing how they were “devastated” by the events of “Remember It,” before the interview wrapped up, I wanted to get get their thoughts on how Rogue and Gambit should be represented in the MCU. Zann, who’s reprising Rogue following her initial stint as the power-sapping mutant in X-Men: The Animated Series, answered first, saying the following about her character:
She’s right on the money here. Although Anna Paquin’s time as Rogue in the first three X-Men movies and the “Rogue Cut” of X-Men: Days of Future Past was many people’s first exposure to the character, Zann is correct that it felt like Paquin’s Rogue was too much like Jubilee in terms of characterization. Even if we take away the permanently-absorbed super strength and flight that Rogue has in the comics and the X-Men ’97 continuity, she’s still an X-Man who’s not to be trifled with, so I agree with Lenore Zann that hopefully the MCU’s Rogue will be presented as being more capable out in the field.
Then there’s A.J. LoCascio, who took over Gambit-voicing duties for X-Men ’97 from Chris Potter, who’s now voicing Cable. LoCascio focused on the hope that Gambit’s traditional personality is retained, then segued into talking about Rogue alongside the Ragin’ Cajun, saying:
So far Gambit has only been on the big screen by Taylor Kitsch in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, one of the lower-ranked X-Men movies. For a long time, a Gambit spinoff movie starring Channing Tatum was in development, but it got shelved after Disney acquired 20th Century Fox. Still, if the MCU is looking to spotlight X-Men who didn’t get a lot of time to shine during the Fox era, Gambit would be a good pick. Should he be given a bigger platform this time around, then I also agree that Rogue should be by his side. That was a pairing that I missed seeing in the original X-Men film series, and ideally as much of their core personalities will be retained, even if only to make them stand out from other MCU superheroes.
The last big X-Men-related twist in the MCU came in The Marvels end-credits scene with Kelsey Grammer reprising Beast, albeit one from a different universe. We’ll let you know when more X-Men characters pop into this franchise, including, of course, Rogue and Gambit. Until then, we’ll keep passing along the big news surrounding upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows.
Source Agencies