Marvel's Deadpool 3: X-23 Actress Dafne Keen Very Hopeful For Return

By Richard Nebens Updated:
Deadpool, X-23

After nearly two years of waiting, the Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 20th Century Fox Studios is officially in the works within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This will be realized on the big screen with the MCU bringing Marvel's First Family to life in the undated Fantastic Four, which will be directed by the MCU's Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts.

The wait now begins for Fox's other notable Marvel franchise to join the fray when the X-Men are eventually brought to the big screen. The closest thing to confirmation that this will happen is news that Ryan Reynolds' third Deadpool movie will bring in Bob's Burgers writers Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin to pen the script for the Merc with a Mouth's first MCU flick.

There are mixed feelings from many of the X-men franchise's past stars concerning reprising their roles in the MCU, although one of the series' youngest stars sees some hope for herself after the Deadpool news.

NEWS

In a new interview with Looper, Logan star Dafne Keen revealed that she is still optimistic that she will have the opportunity to reprise her role as Laura/X-23 when the X-Men are rebooted in the MCU. Keen gave this quote when asked about returning to the role that put her into the Hollywood limelight for the first time:

"I'm 100 percent hopeful. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high in case it doesn't happen, but I really do hope it does because I loved playing Laura. She holds a very special place in my heart and she's an incredible character. And to be fair, the whole Deadpool 3 situation really, really made me happy because, obviously when Disney bought Fox, I suspected they weren't going to do any more R-rated films, but then greenlighting Deadpool is a great sign for other R-rated movies."

WHAT THIS MEANS

While Logan arrived in 2017 as Hugh Jackman's final time suiting up with the Wolverine claws, Dafne Keen found a way to steal the show playing the young mutant Laura in the first full-length movie performance of her acting career. She received several awards and nominations for her performance as X-23, and there has been hope for her to have the chance to play the character again once the X-Men join the MCU.

Her portrayal of X-23 even left Hugh Jackman himself impressed from as early as the auditions, and it's clear that she has what it takes to join a franchise as widely popular as the MCU. Marvel Studios has made no decisions yet in terms of casting any of the X-Men for their reintroduction next to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, although Keene is one of multiple actors open to coming back for another round of on-screen superhero antics.

- In This Article: Deadpool & Wolverine
Release Date
July 26, 2024
Platform
Theaters
Actors
Matthew Macfadyen
- About The Author: Richard Nebens
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.