Drama developing in the world of Marvel Studios animated output. Handbags at the ready! Prepare to scratch their eyes out. In one corner is recently departed (fired? allegedly) X-Men ’97 writer Beau DeMayo. In the other corner is What If…? writer and new X-Men ’97 head writer Matthew Chauncey.
The subject of this little wrestle? What If…? season 3 has wrapped and fans didn’t like it. Neither does DeMayo who didn’t hold back. As reported via Dark Horizons, DeMayo posted on X:
“#whatif season 3 yikes just yikes… I’d watch more to give notes on how it could’ve easily been done better but I have some water to watch boil.”
Ooof. Saucer of milk to that gentleman’s table, please. He also said the season had “no substance” and “the dialogue is flat and so obvious, and some of the premises are just weird.”
It seems there are some deeper issues here, which may be that Chauncey, who came in to oversee season 3 of X-Men ’97, has also done some rewriting of season 2.
That second season was already written by DeMayo before he departed Marvel Studios. According to DeMayo, these X-Men ’97 re-writes removed:
“…intercut time hopping across the first episodes because it was ‘too complicated.’”
They are also, according to DeMayo:
“Throwing out or reworking most of my season 2 as well.”
Clearly, hell hath no fury like a writer scorned.