Dafne Keen Addresses X-23’s MCU Future Amid AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY and X-MEN Return Rumors
Dafne Keen isn’t ready to put away X-23’s claws just yet. After making her surprise MCU arrival in Deadpool & Wolverine, the actress has made it clear she’d happily return as Laura Kinney, and considering the rumors currently surrounding Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel fans may have good reason to keep an eye on her.
Keen recently addressed her future as X-23 during a Fan EXPO Boston panel while speaking with MovieWeb. The 21-year-old actress was asked whether she feels like she still has some “unfinished business” with Laura, and her answer made it pretty obvious that she sees plenty of potential left in the character.
“Absolutely. I mean, she’s such an interesting kind of tormented character, and she has so much more story to live. I mean, the comic books are incredible. There’s so much to pull from, and yeah, I mean, if they wanted to, there is so much material, and I’d always be willing.”
Laura Kinney has a massive comic book history Marvel Studios could dig into, and Keen has only had two movies to explore the character so far. There’s a lot more X-23 territory waiting to be adapted, especially now that mutants are becoming an increasingly important part of the MCU.
Marvel hasn’t officially announced Keen for Avengers: Doomsday, its other upcoming Avengers movie, or the long-awaited X-Men reboot. That hasn’t stopped reports from circulating that Laura could be heading back into action sooner than expected.
Scooper Alex Perez recently claimed Keen will appear in the upcoming Avengers movies, saying, “[Keen will] be back for the Avengers films, and that’s all I know.”
Entertainment insider MyTimeToShineHello has also reported that Keen was “in talks to return as X-23.” A later update suggested that those discussions might not be connected to the upcoming X-Men reboot being directed by Jake Schreier, which naturally raises the possibility that her return could happen somewhere else in Marvel’s expanding mutant plans.
None of those reports have been confirmed by Marvel Studios, so Keen appearing in Avengers: Doomsday sits in rumor territory for now. Still, her own comments tell us that if Marvel calls, she’ll jump back in.
Keen first played Laura Kinney in 2017’s Oscar-nominated Logan, where she shared the screen with Hugh Jackman and quickly established X-23 as much more than Wolverine’s pint-sized successor.
Laura was vicious when she needed to be, but Keen also gave the character an emotional vulnerability that made her relationship with Logan hit especially hard.
Seven years later, Keen finally returned in the box office smash Deadpool & Wolverine. The movie brought Laura into the MCU’s multiversal chaos and reunited her with Jackman’s Wolverine, giving fans another look at an older version of the character while opening the door to whatever Marvel might want to do with her next.
Laura eventually takes on the Wolverine mantle in the comics, while her history stretches across the X-Men, X-Force, and numerous mutant storylines.
Marvel doesn’t necessarily have to rush her toward becoming Wolverine, either. Keen is still young enough that the MCU could develop Laura over multiple movies and allow her to grow into a much bigger role as its mutant corner takes shape.
The immediate question is whether Avengers: Doomsday will be the next stop. With rumors pointing toward another appearance and Keen openly saying she’d be willing to return, X-23 certainly feels like a character Marvel could keep around.
Until Marvel makes something official, though, fans will have to keep those adamantium-clawed expectations under control.
Hopefully, Keen gets the call. She’s already proven twice that she can make Laura Kinney a badass and emotionally compelling presence onscreen, and there’s way too much great X-23 material in Marvel Comics to leave those claws sitting on the shelf.