After Dafne Keen's acclaimed performance as Laura/X-23 in 2017's Logan, it was generally assumed that the young actress would get the opportunity to reprise the role down the line. Of course, that was before Disney acquired 20th Century Fox's assets in a highly publicized takeover that same year.
The His Dark Materials star has previously confirmed that there were tentative talks for her to return as Laura in a future project prior to the Disney deal, and it sounds like she may get the opportunity to unleash the claws again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
According to insider CWGST, Keen was in talks to play an older take on X-23 in Deadpool 3 before the strikes kicked off, and will hopefully resume negotiations once things are finally settled.
"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," Keen told ComicBook.com in a 2020 interview. "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."
It sounds like it's only going to be a small role, but if things do pan out, we could potentially see Keen suit-up as X-23 in the eventual X-Men reboot.
Deadpool 3 is expected to be similar to The Flash when it comes to its Multiverse elements, with Wilson and Wolverine dropping in on various alternate realities and timelines. It sounds like a lot of other cameos have been lined up, including several X-Men characters (Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey among them), and possibly even Channing Tatum and Taylor Kitsch as different Variants of Gambit.
A recent rumor claimed that Liev Schreiber is set to reprise his X-Men Origins: Wolverine role as Victor Creed/Sabertooth. Variants of the Merc With a Mouth are also rumored to appear, including Dogpool, Kidpool, Lady Deadpool, and more.
The one major return that has been confirmed by the trades is Jennifer Garner as Elektra, but it seems speculation that Ben Affleck would be joining her as Daredevil was unfounded.
Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), Karan Soni (Dopinder), Leslie Uggams (Blind Al), Rob Delaney (Peter), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead) And Shioli Kutsuna (Yukio) will all return as their respective characters, and they'll be joined by franchise newcomers Emma Corrin (The Crown) and Matthew Macfadyen (Succession), whose roles are still under wraps.
Plot details also remain a mystery for now, but Wade and Wolvie are expected to find themselves (trapped?) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A recent report claimed that Loki's TVA, including Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Miss Minutes, will be involved. We have also been led to believe that Wade's MCU debut will be far more integral to Phase 5 and beyond than we first realized.
Shawn Levy is directing Deadpool 3, which is set to hit theaters on September 6, 2024.