ART IMITATES LIFE… SOMETIMES IT JUST TAKES 30 YEARS.

I got to speak with Eric and Julia Lewald, two of the creative minds behind X-Men: The Animated Series, at Multicon about how their marriage has influenced their storytelling, and how an idea inspired by their own lives eventually found its way into X-Men ’97 decades later!

As a filmmaker, I love hearing how personal experiences become part of the stories we connect with. You never know which everyday moment might inspire a character, a relationship, or a scene that stays with audiences. In this case, that inspiration had to wait a few decades for its moment!

Getting to hear that story directly from Eric and Julia made this conversation especially memorable. Behind the mutant powers and larger-than-life battles, those human connections are such a big part of what makes X-Men resonate.

Sidenote: Eric and Julia are some of the loveliest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of interviewing. Thank you both for sharing your time, your memories, and a little piece of your own love story with us! Stay tuned, more from this conversation and our MultiCon coverage is on the way!

- CJ