In the build-up to the much-awaited release of X-Men ’97 Season 2, Alison Sealy-Smith, who voices Storm in the series, has revealed that she almost missed out on returning in the revival. Having made her debut as the iconic character in the original 1992 X-Men animated series, Sealy-Smith has been a big part of the series’ legacy, but she almost didn’t return due to some initial confusion.

Alison Sealy-Smith reveals she nearly passed on her X-Men ’97 return

While speaking with Collider‘s Maggie Lovitt, the Barbadian-Canadian actress disclosed that she initially mistook the recasting call from Disney as a “scam” email. As such, she decided to delete the message, almost closing the doors on her return as Storm in X-Men ’97.

“I opened my computer one day, and I’m looking at my email, and there’s a message from this guy who I do not recognize from Disney,” she said. “[The email] says ‘Disney is looking for you.’ I promptly deleted it. I don’t know what the scam was, but you weren’t going to get this lady. Whatever you’ve got for sale, I ain’t buying.”

However, Sealy-Smith’s agent’s persistence on the matter ultimately helped her return to the role.

“One week, two weeks goes by, and the guy writes me again — ‘They’re doing a reboot of X-Men and Disney’s looking for you,” the 67-year-old actress noted. “Is this Alison Sealy-Smith?’ I called my agent. I said, ‘Look, there’s some a-hole who keeps emailing me talking about X-Men. We haven’t done X-Men in 30 years.’ She said, ‘Alison, could you just get in touch with the guy?’ So I did — and here we are.”

X-Men ’97 has been praised by critics and fans alike. The show currently boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 99%. The revival series second season is currently on track to premiere on Disney+ on July 1, 2026.

Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on SuperHeroHype.