How ‘X-Men ’97’ Secretly Brought Back an Official X-Men Star From the ’90s [Exclusive]
Randall Carpenter, who voiced Mystique in the original 1990s X-Men: The Animated Series, is returning to the role for X-Men '97 Season 3, following the Season 2 finale's cliffhanger in which the character killed Valerie Cooper. Carpenter revealed at a FAN EXPO Canada panel that she was unaware she was auditioning for Mystique at all, having been sent an anonymised casting call after telling her agent she wanted to return to voice work. This marks part of a wider resurgence for the character, who is also set to appear in Marvel's Wolverine video game and remains unconfirmed for the studio's upcoming live-action X-Men film.
Carpenter described going through an unbranded audition process before being told "Welcome back, Mystique," and said voice director Meredith Layne got "goosebumps" because she still sounded the same decades on. She also reflected on how recording has changed since the 1990s, moving from ensemble studio sessions to solo remote recording using equipment sent by Marvel Studios. X-Men '97 Season 3 arrives on Disney+ next year, while the Wolverine game launches on 15 September, and Marvel's new X-Men film starring Sadie Sink and Kit Connor is due in cinemas on 5 May 2028.
- Randall Carpenter returns as Mystique's voice for X-Men '97 Season 3
- She didn't know she was auditioning for the role
- Mystique also appears in Marvel's Wolverine game, out 15 September
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Randall Carpenter voiced Mystique, a shapeshifting X-Men character, in the original X-Men: The Animated Series that ran in the 1990s. She has now returned to voice the same character in X-Men '97, the Disney+ revival of that show, picking up after Mystique's actions in the Season 2 finale. Meredith Layne is the voice director overseeing casting for the new series.
Mystique is also having a wider moment beyond this show: she is due to appear in an upcoming Marvel Wolverine video game, and it is not yet known whether she will feature in Marvel Studios' new live-action X-Men film, which stars Sadie Sink and Kit Connor and is scheduled for cinemas in 2028. This context matters because it shows how a decades-old animated series is being extended into new formats while trying to preserve continuity with its original cast and characters.