X-Men '97 Sunspot Actor Wants Cannonball and a Love Triangle in Season 3

With X-Men '97 Season 2 almost wrapped, the conversation has already shifted to what comes next. The show has been renewed through at least Season 4, so there's real runway to explore storylines that haven't been touched yet — and the cast apparently has some ideas.

What Agustini Is Asking For

Gui Agustini, who voices Roberto Da Costa (Sunspot) in the series, spoke to Collider after a Season 2 event about which comic storylines he'd like to see make it onto screen. His top request: bring in Cannonball. In the comics, Cannonball and Sunspot share a long-running friendship as fellow New Mutants, and Agustini made clear that's the kind of dynamic he wants the show to dig into — a genuine bromance that has real history behind it, not just a cameo.

That's a reasonable ask. The New Mutants are a natural extension of the X-Men world, and X-Men '97 has already shown it's willing to lean into team dynamics rather than just stringing together action sequences.

The Deathbird Angle

Agustini also flagged a second request that's a bit more specific: he wants Deathbird back. The character made a brief appearance in Season 1, and Agustini said he's hoping she returns in a future season to recreate a comic storyline involving a love triangle between Sunspot, Deathbird, and Jubilee.

That's a niche piece of continuity — the kind of thing longtime readers would notice and casual fans might not — but that's exactly the sort of layered detail that has made X-Men '97 work as well as it has. The show doesn't talk down to its audience, and pulling from specific comic arcs rather than broad strokes has been part of its appeal from the start.

For comparison, look at how voice acting roles in animation have been getting more attention lately — Matt Mercer recently joined Warframe as Brysko in the Tau expansion, which shows how much weight a recognizable voice performance can add to an animated or gaming property.

Where the Show Stands

X-Men '97 is already in a strong position heading into future seasons. Marvel Studios Head of TV and Streaming Brad Winderbaum has indicated he wants the show running well beyond 2028, and with renewals confirmed through Season 4, there's no immediate pressure on the storytelling. That's worth noting because it means the writers have space to develop slower-burn storylines — exactly the kind of thing Agustini is describing.

Meanwhile, the live-action X-Men reboot is moving forward separately. Director Jake Schreier is attached, with a script from Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo, and early casting includes Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, and Kit Connor as Cyclops. That film is expected to land after Avengers: Secret Wars, so it's not competing with X-Men '97 for attention anytime soon.

Why It Matters for the Animated Series

The fact that cast members are actively lobbying for specific comic arcs is a decent signal about the show's internal culture — people are engaged with the material beyond just showing up for recording sessions. Whether the writers room follows through on any of Agustini's suggestions is a separate question, but having voice actors invested in the source material tends to produce better performances.

X-Men '97 has earned its audience through specificity and a willingness to take the story seriously. Adding Cannonball and revisiting Deathbird wouldn't be stunt casting or fan service for its own sake — they'd be extensions of storylines that already have roots in the show. That's a different thing entirely.

Both seasons of X-Men '97 are currently streaming on Disney+.

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