Dafne Keen returns in Marvel Studios’ Deadpool 3 with a new comic-accurate costume in new MCU fan art. Dafne Keen first appeared as Laura, a.k.a. X-23, the biological daughter of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, in 2017’s Logan, and managed to survive the events of the beloved project thanks to the efforts of Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s Professor X. Laura and her young mutant friends provided hope for the future of their species, but none of them have yet been confirmed to be returning in the MCU. Nevertheless, there has been speculation that Laura could return in the MCU’s upcoming Deadpool 3.
While Dafne Keen may not have been confirmed to be joining forces with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool in 2024’s Deadpool 3, there have been rumors that the actor will reprise the role of a more grown-up X-23. New fan art shared by Troy Austin depicts Keen’s Laura in a superhero costume more in keeping with her style in Marvel Comics.
Fit with her signature claws, the art imagines Laura as a hardened warrior, and as an official member of the X-Men, which could be the perfect design if she returns as part of Deadpool 3’s multiversal storyline.
The fact that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is alive and well in Deadpool 3 suggests that the Phase 5 film will be taking place prior to the events of Logan. This means that Dafne Keen’s Laura is unlikely to be making an appearance, as she either wouldn’t have been born yet, or would still be far too young to have met her father and reached the safety of the Canadian border. However, this doesn’t rule out future appearances of X-23, and this could make huge strides in setting up the MCU’s official Wolverine, when Hugh Jackman finally retires from the role.
If Dafne Keen’s X-23 makes appearances in Avengers: Secret Wars or future X-Men projects in the MCU, potentially even becoming the official version of X-23 for the MCU, the mythos of mutants can be expanded on significantly. Marvel Studios focusing on Laura for a while would give audiences the chance to breathe before a new actor assumes the role of Wolverine, which is necessary as Hugh Jackman has become so synonymous with the character. Dafne Keen could even return to the MCU following Deadpool 3 as the daughter of the new iteration of Wolverine, softening the blow of Jackman’s departure.
