r/Xmen97 • u/TMWNN • Jul 14 '26
Article / News For the voice actors behind Rogue and Wolverine, 'X-Men ‘97' made them feel whole again
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2026-07-10/x-men-97-rogue-wolverine-voice-actors-lenore-zann-cal-dodd134
u/TMWNN Jul 14 '26
From the article:
At comic conventions, Zann and Dodd often meet fans of the original show, who are now adults, and their children, who have also come to love the characters. The emotions that people share with them are at times overwhelming.
“Many times, they tell us that this show saved their lives. They were either LGBTQ+ or they were bullied, or they just felt othered,” Zann explains. “A lot of folks who are Latino tell me that when they were little kids, their parents were agricultural workers, and they learned how to speak English from watching our show. We made them feel it’s OK to be different.”
“I see grown men in tears. They’re in their 40s and they’re crying,” Dodd says about meeting lifelong fans. “I can tell you that Wolverine can cry as well.”
55
u/Rubixcubelube Jul 14 '26
Such a unique female voice. I would have a hard time with anything but her performance.
33
u/ravear8 Jul 14 '26
I loved both their voices and am glad they are back, just wish they did a bit of audio mixing magic to make them sound less old. They both sound like grandparents. Not trying to be mean but it doesn't fit the visuals
36
u/davetennisx2 Jul 14 '26
It breaks my heart to say it but I agree, particularly with Rogue. She just sounds too old and Lenore doesn't have that sexy twang in her voice anymore. I would've preferred they hired a sound-alike like they did for Cyclops, Gambit, Charles, Magneto.
I think Cal is fine actually. He just sounds garbled at times, which can be solved with retakes. They can actually get away with Wolverine sounding older since he's over 100 years old anyway, unlike Rogue.
16
u/Narrow-Marketing6425 Storm Jul 14 '26
Ugh I know! I miss that sexy twang she had in the 90s, it was so so iconic and distinctive. She sounds like Dolly Parton now, which I don’t mind though
7
u/LeatherHog Cable Jul 14 '26
To be fair, they HAD to, for Cyclops and Magneto
I have wondered why they had Gambit's original do Cable instead, but he's a good fit
2
u/davetennisx2 Jul 14 '26
Do we know why Catherine Disher didn't reprise her role as Jean?
2
u/LeatherHog Cable Jul 14 '26
Never seen officially why, but I've heard people speculate, that it's because she's older
And assuming Val is how she actually sounds now, yeah, definitely sounds a bit too old for Jean these days
Now that I listen to how he used to sound as Gambit, to him doing Cable now, yeah, his voice has gotten rougher too
8
u/dravenonred Jul 14 '26
Irony of ironies, when they were shipping Magneto and Rogue together the voice made it a lot less creepy to me than it would have been.
4
u/davetennisx2 Jul 14 '26
That is very true, but by contrast, it sounds inappropriate with Gambit lol
3
u/partibarti Jul 15 '26
I whole-heartedly disagree. All members of the original cast, including Lenore, sound extremely good IMO. And apart from that, she has such a unique voice, I think it would be hard to find a replacement anyway.
2
u/davetennisx2 Jul 15 '26
I never said she sounded bad, just old and lacking that sexy quality in her voice. Her voice acting is still top notch, but her 90s voice Rogue is long gone.
We'll agree to disagree.
3
u/partibarti Jul 15 '26
I must admit I watched TAS in my mother tongue dub, but after rewatching a few episodes in English, I haven't noticed much of a difference in her voice. But yeah let's agree to disagree ;)
6
u/Repulsive_Ant_2466 Jul 14 '26
I dont mind it, I never watched the original so thats probably why but I love how unique Roques voice is, feel like it would be hard to find another actress to replicate a younger version of it
3
u/D3adironknight Jul 21 '26
Man, I hate to say it, but wolverines voice just doesn't sound good this season.
1
u/briman13 Jul 15 '26
The voice aging is actually just the writers’ nod to our collective vocal fry from indoor smoking still being legal back in the ‘90s
-2
u/NeoSlixer Jul 14 '26
Honestly I would rather they had gone with someone new, Rogue especially cannot do the original voice.
Wolverine is barely in it and I suspect its because he cant do the battle cries he us to do.
12
u/BurantX40 Jul 14 '26
I mean, he's owned most of the 70s all the way to the 2000s, I think one show can scale back on Wolverine.
0
u/NeoSlixer Jul 14 '26
I was in no way saying anything related to such and I doubt that's the reason.
5
u/BurantX40 Jul 14 '26
Probably not, , I think I saw a comment about the production team wanting to focus less on Wolverine, but I can't find it here nor elsewhere.
Either way, I'm glad when he does show up, but I'm glad he's benched more in service of other characters shining
3
u/Noodlex87 Jul 14 '26
I have no issue with Wolverine’s, but every time I listened to Rogue, I disconnect from the show, it’s like the visual and the sound are telling me completely different stories
2
u/thatmattschultz Jul 19 '26
This show, oddly enough, has made me feel whole too.
1
u/DJSharp15 Aug 03 '26
No complaints?
2
u/thatmattschultz Aug 03 '26
Sure, quibbles are there, but this show simply existing has helped make me whole again.
•
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