X-Men '97: Cable Is Voiced By Surprising X-Men: The Animated Series Star

X-Men '97 is currently five episodes deep on Disney+, and the series features the return of many voice actors from X-Men: The Animated Series. Original cast members Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Lenore Zann (Rogue), George Buza (Beast), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler), and Christopher Britton (Mister Sinister) reprise their roles from the '90s series while returning cast members Catherine Disher (original Jean Grey), Chris Potter (original Gambit), and Alyson Court (original Jubilee) voice new characters. This week, the show revealed that Potter's new character is actually another returning character: Cable. 

Earlier in the season, Madelyne Pryor and Scott Summers had to say goodbye to their new baby, Nathan. After being kidnapped and experimented on by Mister Sinister, Nathan was infected with a techno virus that could only be cured in the future. The baby was taken to the future by Bishop, and when Cable returned to the present day, he visited Madelyne, who realized he was her son. 

In the original series, Cable was voiced by Lawrence Bayne. Interestingly, Bayne has lent his voice to a couple of different characters in X-Men '97. He was Carl Denti in "To Me, My X-Men," and a FOH Soldier in "Mutant Liberation Begins." Now that Potter is voicing Cable, A.J. LoCascio has taken over the role of Gambit.

Why Are X-Men: The Animated Series Actors Voicing Different Roles in X-Men '97?

X-Men '97 director/producer Jake Castorena recently spoke with RadioTimes and explained why some of the voice cast has changed. 

"If we're doing this show, we got to do it with the legacy cast – that was the decision from day one," Castorena explained. "[But] time hits us all – it's been 30 years and so, unfortunately, some of the legacy voice cast is no longer with us, and some of the legacy voice cast, voices and things just change."

"Finding people to take up the mantle for the legacy cast, to fill in the roles, was an absolute process, but I absolutely love and appreciate all of our new cast taking on their new roles – and to hear the blessings from the legacy cast has been also awesome, too," he added. 

"For those who wanted to come back and for whatever reasons weren't able to do the voice, we brought them back to play other characters, to make sure we still had everybody in the sandbox... because how do you invite one person to come play, but not somebody else? Especially when they're game and they want to. It's like, 'We'll find something for you,'" Castorena continued. 

"Honestly, it's a way to get everybody back. It's the best way to get everybody back, as best as we could."

X-Men '97 releases new episodes on Wednesdays.