X-Men ’97 left us in shambles after episode 5, “Remember It,” and we cried because why did this need to happen? Our mutants were literally fighting for their lives, leaving us wondering who ended up surviving the attack on Genosha. Now, we have answers, and well, they might not be what you were looking for.
During an interview with Screen Rant, supervising producer and head director Jake Castorena talked about the deaths that rocked our worlds. We are talking, of course, about Magneto and Gambit. We lost a great many mutants in the attack on Genosha when a Sentinel appeared and began destroying the one place meant as a safe haven for mutants. But the deaths of Magneto and Gambit had fans asking if they were really dead.
According to Castorena, the decision for it to be Gambit and Magneto was one that they weighed heavily. “The decision was never finite, like, ‘We’re doing this, we’re killing so and so and that’s it.’ This might scare fans, but it changed a bit, it bounced around on who it would be because for sake of story, for sake of pushing character arcs and tying everything in, based on where story trajectory was going, [it] was based on what character it was going to be,” he said. “But ultimately, obviously, we landed on Gambit and, Magneto. We know someone, a.k.a. Rogue, who is, especially in our show, who was very much intertwined with both.”
Still, that doesn’t mean that Gambit and Magneto are dead, right? RIGHT?
Did our boys meet their maker?
Unfortunately, for those of us who hoped it wouldn’t remain true, Castorena went on to talk about how he wants fans to continue to look at the show and explore how the X-Men react to the deaths of those they knew, including Gambit and Magneto.
“I implore audiences to ponder and be curious about what that would do to someone of Rogue’s caliber and potentially, I would say focus less on what we have lost and I would focus on more who or what lies ahead, if that makes sense for you,” Castorena said. “But ultimately, at the end of the day, Gambit and Magneto are dead and we’ll have to watch the series unfold to further understand what those consequences are going to be for not just for our team but for potentially for the rest of the world.”
It isn’t exactly what we wanted to hear, or at least I was holding out hope that we’d learn that somehow, they could reverse time and fix things. But it also makes for an emotional journey for not only us as fans but also the team as they work through the wreckage of Genosha and the grief over losing their friends.
I do not look forward to what is going to happen to Rogue and how she is feeling now that both Gambit and Magneto are gone, but until we get to see more of this season, we’ll just have to remember “I can’t feel you” and cry about it.
(featured image: Disney+)
