RUMOR: Dafne Keen To Return As Laura/X-23; Update On Marvel's Plans For The X-MEN

RUMOR: Dafne Keen To Return As Laura/X-23; Update On Marvel's Plans For The X-MEN

According to a new rumor, Deadpool and Wolverine star Dafne Keen will return as Laura, aka X-23, for either Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars...

By MarkCassidy - May 16, 2025 09:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Avengers: Doomsday

We didn't expect to see Dafne Keen as X-23 again following her acclaimed turn in James Mangold's Logan, but the young actress was given the opportunity to reprise the role in Shawn Levy's Deadpool and Wolverine as part of a Void Resistance team alongside Blade (Wesley Snipes), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), Gambit (Channing Tatum), and the late Johnny Storm (Chris Evans).

Laura appears again in the closing moments of the movie, having reunited with Logan and the Merc With a Mouth, leaving the door open for her eventual return.

Hugh Jackman is expected to play Wolverine at least one more time before we see a new team of mutants makes their debut in Marvel Studios' X-Men reboot, and it looks like his daughter/clone will be joining him.

According to MTTSH, Keen is set to return to the MCU. Avengers: Doomsday is possible, but if not, she will likely suit-up for Secret Wars.

Keen has previously expressed interest in playing Laura again, "even for just a tiny, silly cameo."

"I've said this a trillion times, I would play Laura for the rest of my life, and I would be content. She's the most incredible character to play.”

The scooper has also shared some updates on the studio's plans for the X-Men.

Apparently, "no new cast will be introduced in the upcoming Avengers films, because the focus is on giving closure to the original characters. Casting hasn’t started yet because director Jake Schreier hasn’t officially signed on. That’s why Sadie Sink isn’t playing Jean Grey. That said, there are three roles Kevin Feige has specific actors (or at least types) in mind for: Xavier, Magneto, and Storm. The names he’s considering feel a bit too big to actually land, but you’ll see — I’ll mention them soon. Aside from those three, I haven’t heard of any other actors being considered yet."

Take this for what you will, but we have heard that Cynthia Erivo is still the studio's top pick for Storm, and Feige is also interested in enlisting Bryan Cranston (we're not sure if that's for Xavier or Magneto).

Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on May 1, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027. Both films will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame

"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.

You can check out the full (for now) Doomsday cast list below.

• Paul Rudd as Ant-Man

• Simu Liu as Shang-Chi

• Tom Hiddleston as Loki

• Lewis Pullman as Sentry

• Florence Pugh as Yelena

• Danny Ramirez as Falcon

• Ian McKellen as Magneto

• Sebastian Stan as Bucky

• Winston Duke as M’Baku

• Chris Hemsworth as Thor

• Kelsey Grammer as Beast

• James Marsden as Cyclops

• Channing Tatum as Gambit

• Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent

• Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm

• Rebecca Romijn as Mystique

• Patrick Stewart as Professor X

• Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler

• Letitia Wright as Black Panther

• Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor

• Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards

• Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost

• Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm

• David Harbour as Red Guardian

• Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom

• Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing

• Anthony Mackie as Captain America

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CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 5/16/2025, 9:36 PM
Please don't mess this up please dont mess this up please dont mess this up
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 5/16/2025, 9:46 PM
nice, but keep her as Laura/X-23 and have none of that name stealing, hawkeye/kate bishop, it's just a mantle type of bullshit.
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ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 5/16/2025, 9:47 PM
Cranston as Xavier? Damn didn't consider that before, but I want it now.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 5/17/2025, 1:05 AM
@ModHaterSLADE - might be too old. But would be fire.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/16/2025, 9:52 PM
Not too surprised by X23 coming back apparently since that seemed pretty obvious imo , likely in Secret Wars alongside Jackman’s Logan.

In regards to the X-Men update , makes sense they wouldn’t be introducing any of the new cast yet since this Multiverse Saga has been partly a love letter to pre-MCU Marvel films so giving them a proper goodbye/ending is on the list of priorities.

Anyway , MTTSH has stated now that Feige wants Daniel Day Lewis to play Magneto (don’t buy that and even true , doubt it happens) so that means Cranston is being eyed for Xavier most likely.

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soberchimera
soberchimera - 5/16/2025, 9:54 PM
Bryan Cranston has said on record he would like to play Mr. Sinister.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/16/2025, 9:57 PM
Also I like Cynthia Erivo and perhaps she could pull off Storm but my choice is still Jodie Turner Smith…

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ThouBear8
ThouBear8 - 5/17/2025, 2:15 AM
@TheVisionary25 - granted I haven't seen Jodie Turner Smith in much, but based on what I HAVE seen, I whole heartedly support that casting choice, & certainly more than Erivo (who is also very talented, but miscast as Storm imo).
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 5/16/2025, 10:11 PM
?si=jZm86lmmSEsIGwQZ

Cynthia for Lady Whiplash from MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #49!!!

*My favorite line from Wolverine

Wolverine: She cuts deep.

Wolverine: I aim to return the favor.

Classic.


Cranston as Mastermind. If the Sinister doesn't work. I could also be down to have him voice Nimrod. Or play Stryker 2.0.

SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/16/2025, 10:14 PM
X-Force should be a TVA Multiversal team post Secret Wars that exist as a cleanup crew in case a branched timeline forms or can potentially create a problem. The team should consist of Deadpool's favorites which include Deadpool, Wolverine (Jackman), X-23 (Keen), Gambit (Tatum), Domino, Cable, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 5/17/2025, 6:32 AM
@SonOfAGif - that sounds interesting, but man, I sure hope the Multiverse shit doesn't continue past Secret Wars. I'm just ... so tired.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/17/2025, 10:35 AM
@ClintthaManster - That's why the X-Force could be the only team of variants left that are strictly there to prevent Multiversal mayhem or events from happening again.
TK420
TK420 - 5/16/2025, 10:14 PM
When all the good ideas are used up...
TheStranger
TheStranger - 5/16/2025, 10:45 PM
She was great and would only get better as she grows into the role.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 5/16/2025, 10:56 PM
Maybe they are preparing some Laura vs Daken squirmish to happen during Secret Wars.

If Daniel Day-Lewis accepted a role like Magneto it'd be one of those "break the Internet" moments. And it's probable not a coincidence considering he's coming out of retirement to premiere a movie in October, IIRC, that was directed by his son. I will keep all this in mind just in case.

Bryan Cranston as Professor X would be nice and maybe the idea of acting against Cranston is enough to convince Daniel Day-Lewis to sign up.
cubichy
cubichy - 5/16/2025, 11:05 PM
This looks great and if done right, x23 can be fun. BUT, Falcon should not be cap, bring back Steve rogers. Falcon doesn’t have the leadership, experience to be the leader that’s needed in a potentially bigger fight than endgame, no way no how. And the fans agree, his movie tanked almost as big as the marvels. Suri should not be the black panther, they need o bring tchala back with another actor and where is Ironman, tony stark. MCU needs to fix these 3 issues and will have a 3 billion dollar movie on their hands.
FrankenDad
FrankenDad - 5/16/2025, 11:06 PM
I could see Cranston pulling off Magneto despite never having considered it. 🤔
McMurdo
McMurdo - 5/17/2025, 1:06 AM
@FrankenDad - he can pull off alot of roles honestly.
grif
grif - 5/16/2025, 11:10 PM
more trash spawned from that shit logan movie

KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 5/16/2025, 11:35 PM
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ProfessorWhy
ProfessorWhy - 5/17/2025, 4:32 AM
@KennKathleen - but Magneto isn't a whiney bitch with a double standard
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 5/17/2025, 7:36 AM
@ProfessorWhy -

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PapaBear562
PapaBear562 - 5/17/2025, 12:05 AM
My youngest son has an incredible crush on her.
Nolanite
Nolanite - 5/17/2025, 12:24 AM
Can someone please do me a favor and share some pictures of her of recent times?

Need some motivation and looking at her would make my day complete.

Nolanite out
McMurdo
McMurdo - 5/17/2025, 1:07 AM
@Nolanite - she's in Deadpool v Wolverine.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 5/17/2025, 12:46 AM

Please don’t let that ugly dude play Storm.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 5/17/2025, 1:07 AM
@DocSpock - zero chance she's like 5 feet tall.
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/17/2025, 9:12 AM
@DocSpock - lol.
EskimoJ
EskimoJ - 5/17/2025, 1:07 AM
Please, no, to Erivio.
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 5/17/2025, 1:39 AM
You all are sleeping on Cynthia Erivio. She's a total powerhouse. Not for nothing Wicked shattered box office records and got Oscar nominations. Either Marvel or DC would be lucky to have her in any of their upcoming projects.
FrankenDad
FrankenDad - 5/17/2025, 7:16 AM
@NinnesMBC - she seemed like she had a great time playing 5 roles in the premiere episode of S2 of Poker Face, too.
ThouBear8
ThouBear8 - 5/17/2025, 2:17 AM
Keen is tremendous, I'd love for them to keep her around as Laura.
gambgel
gambgel - 5/17/2025, 5:54 AM
Dont you guys find interesting that Mytimetoshine had NO IDEA about Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, Ian McKellen; Marsden returning for Doomsday......... yet he/she knows Dafne is returning and Marvel is eying Daniel Day Lewis?


yeah, sure Lol
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 5/17/2025, 6:29 AM
It was me, I started that rumor.
DannyBrandy20
DannyBrandy20 - 5/17/2025, 6:38 AM
Hell no that actress as Storm. We already had shit Storm actresses in FoX-Men universe
MuadDib
MuadDib - 5/17/2025, 8:23 AM
My expectations of the rebooted X-Men goes lower and lower with each rumor.

Cranston as Magneto? Domingo as Charles? Some butt ugly choice for Storm? It just gets worse and worse. Too bad they can’t cast good choices. Obviously this is all rumors and it’s too soon to know who’ll be who until official announcements are made, but this doesn’t bode well for the X-Men.

If they try and push a woke racial recast of the fan favorite mutant team, it will flop HARD. I really hope they just stick to slightly more accurate castings. The X-Men team is diverse already, and you can pick and choose other already existing characters without race swapping already established characters. They are going down a slippery path, hope they don’t lose their footing.

As for Keen, was never a fan. If they insist on her making yet another appearance, fingers crossed it’s the last one. We need and deserve a new Wolverine, and she’s not it
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/17/2025, 9:11 AM
@MuadDib - why do you have to be right???? you nailed it.
Corruptor
Corruptor - 5/17/2025, 12:15 PM
She's fine as well as Wolverine, not instead. Character was never intended as a replacement.

Is it too late to remove Bucky and Shang Chi from this. Have enough characters without a greasy mophead and the "best ever super-hero" ruining it.
Biggums
Biggums - 5/17/2025, 3:16 PM
That young Lady got me slapping Myself. My she's blossomed quite, drastically

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