Beau DeMayo, creator of “X-MEN ’97”
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iHeart Podcast Awards 2024
Earlier this month, Beau DeMayo was having a particularly busy time at Marvel Studios.The writer and producer was preparing for the release of X-Men ’97a Disney+ series he created as a sequel to the popular Fox Kids show from the ’90s.
DeMayo is a regular at Marvel, having previously written scripts for live-action series. moon night Early drafts of the company’s delayed but still scheduled vampire thriller bladehad completed writing duties for Season 2 of the series, was in line for press, and was planning to attend. X-Men ’97Hollywood premiere on March 13th. The team members are discussing rough ideas for the third season.
But early last week, Marvel and DeMayo suddenly parted ways. His company email was disabled and the cast and crew were informed that he was no longer involved in the project. DeMayo’s Instagram account, which was once a source of up-to-date information about the X-Men, has been deleted. The reason for the dismissal was not disclosed.
Marvel has not commented. DeMayo’s representatives did not respond to a request for comment, and the showrunner did not respond to an email sent to him.
On the eve of the show’s debut on March 20th, a surprising thing happened. For Marvel and other studios, sharing screenwriters is part of normal business. But it’s unusual for a top Marvel creator to skip a premiere, or even to be sidelined, to cancel press plans at the last minute. Most Marvel premieres have multiple screenwriters walking the red carpet, some of which have been rewritten by other screenwriters who also walked the carpet.
Marvel announced DeMayo’s hiring in November 2021. The move was greeted with some excitement, as the screenwriter made a point of bringing his identity as a gay black man to the project and telling the press how he grew up as an adopted child. As the son of white parents and a Korean sister, the X-Men characters and their struggle for acceptance felt personal to him.
His silence on social media is significant since he was a prolific poster, sharing tidbits about the X-Men and shirtless photos at the gym. At one time, he also ran his own Only Fans account, which was less explicit, all of which inspired his LGBTQ publications. outside It declared him “the sexy, gay Marvel writer and showrunner known to those in the know.”
However, social media was sometimes a challenge during the production of the series. In May 2023, DeMayo announced that he would be deleting his Twitter account following attacks from users. X-Men ’97 They cast Brazilian actor Gui Agustini and whitewashed the character of Sunspot.
X-Men ’97 The story continues X-MEN: The Animated SeriesThe show ran from 1992 to 1997 and is credited with introducing and pumping a generation of kids to mutant characters. x men A movie from the early 2000s. Many of the original show’s voice actors are returning, there’s also a nostalgic element, and the first trailer has helped become the most-watched promo for his Disney+ animated show.
DeMayo was one of the children who grew up watching the show. The showrunner said in June 2022: “For anyone who feels different, there’s a Magneto among us, there’s a Charles Xavier among us. Part of us wants to burn it all down, and another part of us wants to find a compromise and build. And those comics really helped me understand my identity. ”
