Disney / Marvel Axes X-Men: Danger Room Protocols Fan Series

Well, that is all she wrote for the X-Men: Danger Room Protocols web series meant to be a homage to the 90s cartoon.

Following the debut of the initial episode, Disney/Marvel has put a stop to the project citing copyright issues.

The creator of the series has posted a video on YouTube stating it’s cancelled.

Joel Furtado states he spent a year creating the project and all his money, and that he can’t afford to get into a legal battle with Marvel. 

“I’m sort of being forced at this time to shut down and remove all the episodes and content to do with the series,” Furtado said, and then went on to thank the fans for their support.

“When I set out to make this project, I never really thought this was going to be an issue,” Furtado continued. “I didn’t think that Marvel was going to react this way, and this outcome, for me, is a little bit shocking. Just giving the precedent on the internet of how much fan art is made on a daily basis by thousands of people…. I never thought I would be treated differently.”

It’s possible Furtado might be able to put the video back up if he claims it’s a parody. The Supreme Court has ruled parody and satire come under Fair Use. Of course, Furtado could still face an uphill legal battle with Disney, which he obviously wants to avoid.

“The most heartbreaking thing of this entire experience isn’t even that I have to throw out this entire project in the garbage, or that I wasted all my money making this,” explained Furtado. “The most heartbreaking thing is that this company that I’ve idolized my entire life, and I’m finally meeting for the first time professionally, and this is the experience that we’ve gone through, where now Marvel’s looking at me like I’m an enemy to them. And that’s never what I wanted.” 

CBR reached out to Marvel who declined to comment.