X-MEN EVOLUTION ANIMATED UPDATE
Tue May 9 10:19:04 2000

From the Comics Continuum:

Bob Forward, story editor of Kids' WB!'s X-Men Evolution animated series, told The Continuum that the show will be ready to air this fall and revealed which characters to expect.

Forward followed the team of Bob Skir and Marty Isenberg as story editor on the show, which is in production at Film Roman. And while he said X-Men Evolution is behind schedule, he expects it to be ready.

"We were six weeks behind when I started, but we'll get there," Forward told The Continuum in an exclusive interview Monday night. "We've got things moving pretty well."

Forward said that he is currently working on the first four scripts; the first one, which he wrote, has been completed. Greg Johnson, who was a story editor and wrote for the Hulk and Iron Man animated series, and Simon Furman, who wrote Marvel's Transformers comics, are also writing scripts.

Forward said he had to write four different drafts of the first episode.

"I wrote the X-Men the way people expected the X-Men cartoon series to be," he said. "The initial draft was dark with teen angst. It took a while to understand what they were looking forward."

Forward said this X-Men show will be "lighter and a lot more kid-oriented" than the Fox Kids version.

"We're shooting for a younger audience at the request of Kids' WB!, but we're not dumbing it down," Forward said. "We have to assume that the audience does not know these characters, so we explain what their powers are and what they are doing.

"It is not the way I instinctively would have gone, but it is a lot of fun. It's more teenage discovery of power. They haven't run up against a lot yet."

The show will be set in the early years of the X-Men, with them attending Xavier Institute, a high school.

Regular characters will include teenage versions of Jean Grey, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde and a new character, Spike. Professor Xavier will be featured, and Wolverine and Storm will be seen as adult "mentors."

Spike is similar in powers to Marrow from the comics, and will be Storm's nephew. "That's in keeping with the Marvel tradition, where everybody's related," Forward said.

Raven Darkholme (aka Mystique) will be the principal of the high school, covertly trying to sway mutant students, who will also include Blob, Toad, Avalanche and Quicksilver.

"We don't call them the Brotherhood yet, because they haven't been formed," Forward said. "It's more like a gang."

Forward hinted that while Magneto won't be seen early in the show, he's probably pulling some strings.

The X-Men are formed, although unknown to the public. They wear costumes and do fight villains.

"We try to play kids like kids," Forward said. "But we're not trying to make it goofy."

Wolverine will be the darkest character, Forward said. "He's a brooding guy, who sort of lurks in the background and protects them," he said.

Part of the reason for the delay on X-Men Evolution has been getting the right tone for all parties involved.

"Short of working on a show about a major religion, I've found nothing inspires opinions like X-Men," Forward said. "You've got Marvel and Warner Bros. and Film Roman and Toy Biz, and that's four different factions with people in control.

"It's been tough. The previous story editors ran afoul of this, but I haven't touched their bible. I haven't changed a thing. They did us the favor of getting everybody thought out."

Voice casting for the series is under way; recording will probably take place in Vancouver.

X-Men Evolution is scheduled to air Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. on Kids' WB!. Thirteen episodes are planned for the first season.

Look for more on the show very soon here in The Continuum.

Hatter