Duh-duh-duh-da-da-da! Duh-duh-duh-da-da-da! Duh-duh-duh-da-da-da! DUH-DUH! The opening theme of ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ is one of the most memorable and distinctive, making a place for itself in the animated television history. The theme, fueled by guitars and nostalgia, has remained deep-seated in the minds of numerous generations of Marvel fans since ’92 and has now landed Marvel in some hot water.
According to TMZ, Zoltan Krisko has filed suit against Marvel, Disney, FOX, Apple, Amazon, and almost every other media company connected to ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’. The lawsuit alleges that the animated comic show’s theme song was stolen from the 1984 Hungarian police comedy thriller ‘Linda’, which aired until 1989. ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ aired for five seasons from 1992 through 1997, producing a total of 76 episodes.
Something that readers might find interesting is that the lawsuit was announced on the heels of the revelation that ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ is expected to be part of the Disney+ launch library. Interesting enough, there are rumors circulating that the creators of the show are attempting to resurrect it with new episodes on the streaming service. Showrunner Eric Lewald previously discussed what a sixth season of the series might look like.
“I had honestly never thought about it for all these years, but now that you mention it, an idea for a season just came to me: The five-season series ends with a dying Charles Xavier being whisked away to space by Lilandra, where she can maintain his fragile body, but where it seems he will be gone forever from his beloved X-Men. It’s like a death. Season Six could open, months later, with the X-Men in disarray – a few gone, the ones remaining at each other’s throats. They miss their leader. Then somehow they are called to – and transported to – an existential crisis on Lilandra’s distant world. The team grudgingly reunites ‘for Charles,’ heads off to space, solves the crisis, and a somehow-healed Charles Xavier is either able to return to Earth with them or, if he can’t, his heroic final sacrifice heals the team’s wounds and they return to Earth as the proper X-Men again.”
The estate of Hungarian composer Gyorgy Vukan, who created and copyrighted the theme music used in Linda in 1983, is managed by Krisko. He believes it is likely that the television executives involved in the creation of ‘X-Men: The Animated Series‘ heard the ‘Linda’ theme song while networking with members of the Hungarian film industry during the late 1980s. The lawsuit has been filed 27 years after the debut of ‘X-Men: The Animated Series because Krisko claims he had never heard the ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ theme song until 2017. He asserts that the allegedly stolen theme song has played a significant role in the success of the animated show and that Vukan’s estate deserves to see a significant part of the profits.
What do you think of the lawsuit against Marvel over the ‘X-Men: The Animated Series‘ theme song? Let us know in the comments!
