Yes, One of ‘Obsession’s Stars Is Already Joining the Marvel Universe

Obsession has, undeniably, become one of the biggest surprises in popular culture this year. The Focus Features film has had astonishing amounts of word-of-mouth hype, bucking traditional box office trends and grossing more money in its second and third weekends. A lot of people are now curious to see what the future holds for the film’s director, Curry Barker, as well as its small ensemble cast of largely-unknown names.

Now, we have an answer for one of those cast members: Michael Johnston, who stars as Baron “Bear” Bailey in the film. Late last week, Johnston shared the teaser trailer for Marvel Television’s upcoming second season of X-Men ’97 to his social media accounts, and revealed that he is voicing the young Nathan Summers / Cable in the new season. As his caption reads: “I had the absolute privilege of voicing Nathan Summers in Marvel Animation’s #XMen97?.”

Nathan has already been a unique presence in the first season of X-Men ’97, initially being introduced as the child of Scott Summers / Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase) and Madelyne Pryor (voiced by Jennifer Hale). Infected by Mister Sinister when he was a baby, he was hidden away in the future, only to return as an adult (voiced by Chris Potter) before the fall of Genosha. After trying (and failing) to save Madelyne from her death, he then became an unlikely ally of Scott and Jean (also voiced by Jennifer Hale).

As the trailer for Season 2 shows, Johnston’s version of Nathan will be joining Scott and Jean in the far-flung future. It will be really interesting to see how Nathan bounces off of those two big personalities… and just what Johnston brings to “Kid Cable”, who has become a fan-favorite character in his own right in recent years.

While some have joked that the hype surrounding Obsession led Marvel to immediately poach Johnston, it’s worth mentioning that animation has an extremely long production time. Work on Season 2 of X-Men ’97 was underway long before Season 1 was even airing in the spring of 2024, with voice recording reportedly having begun as early as February of 2023. In reality, Johnston was probably cast long before he even filmed Obsession in the fall of 2024.

Plus, this isn’t even Johnston’s first Marvel role, as he previously voiced Dante in the Marvel’s Avengers video game that was released back in 2020. He and his Obsession co-star Inde Navarrette also both appeared on The CW’s DC shows, with Johnston guest-starring in an episode of Supergirl and Navarette playing Sarah Cushing on Superman & Lois.

What Is X-Men ’97 Season 2 About?

According to Marvel Television’s official description of the season, Season 2 of X-Men ’97 continues with the heroic mutant team of X-Men, divided and thrown across different eras in time as they struggle to navigate their return home. Meanwhile, back in the 1990s, suspicious foes and new strains of mutant intolerance are on the rise in the wake of the X-Men’s absence. 

The second season of the original animated series features 9 episodes, and the voice cast includes Ross Marquand as Professor X, Matthew Waterson as Magneto, Ray Chase as Cyclops, Jennifer Hale as Jean Grey, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm, Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Lenore Zann as Rogue, and George Buza as Beast.

The series is executive produced by Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Julia Lewald, Eric Lewald, Larry Houston, and Beau DeMayo. The supervising producer is Jake Castorena. Episodes written by JB Ballard, Beau DeMayo, Bailey Moore, Antony Sellitti, Brian Ford Sullivan, and Mariah Wilson. The episodic directors are Emmett Yonemura and Chase Conley.

As mentioned above, Season 2 of X-Men ’97 will debut on Wednesday, July 1st exclusively on Disney+.

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