In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios brought back a lot of familiar villains from the past. Now, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness looks set to feature cameos from heaps of characters we've seen on screen before, but could Kelly Hu's Lady Deathstrike be among them?
She's one of the most iconic villains from the X-Men movies, so when we had the actress on the phone to discuss her Catwoman: Hunted role as Cheshire, we had to ask about a possible return.
In this excerpt from our interview (you can read the full thing on Tuesday or click here now to check it out), Hu also weighs in on X2's legacy as it nears its 20th anniversary, shares her reaction to fans still wanting to talk about the role, and what it was like working with Hugh Jackman on their massive fight scene. She also comments on how her take on Deathstrike influenced the comics.
If you weren't already on board with more of her take on this character, something tells us you soon will be. It's clearly a role Kelly looks back on fondly, and we'll be keeping a close eye on the Doctor Strange sequel. After all, we still don't know who might show up there...
Since we last spoke, Spider-Man: No Way Home has come out and opened the door for characters from the past to return; has that changed how you feel about a possible Lady Deathstrike return, especially with a movie like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on the horizon?
Yeah, it would be awesome to bring Lady Deathstrike back and actually have some dialogue this time [Laughs]. It would be a lot more fun with dialogue.
Are you surprised nearly two decades on that Deathstrike is a role people like me and the fans still want to discuss with you or did you suspect then that she would be someone with real staying power in this superhero genre?
Of course, when you play these kinds of roles, you never know what the future holds. I knew that a lot of people were very excited about Lady Deathstrike. I have to admit, I was not a comic book fan, so I didn’t understand the impact of what it was to be able to play this role. I know from my friends, as I have a lot of comic book nerd friends, and they were so ecstatic about me getting this. I knew it was kind of a big deal. I loved being able to help recreate her as well. I got to be so involved in her new look. Lady Deathstrike in the film is very different to Lady Deathstrike in the comic books. It was fun to see, afterwards, how the comic book Deathstrike started looking more like the one I had helped create in the film. So, yeah, I feel honoured that I get to have a little bit of creation as well in this comic book world through Lady Deathstrike, so it’s super fun to know you’ve had a little imprint on a character that is so beloved.
It’s got to feel pretty good as well to have been part of that fight scene which, even now, is still remembered as an all-time great battle between you and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine?
That is so awesome. I love that. It really was so awesome to be able to work with Hugh. He’s such a brilliant, awesome, lovely human being. I cannot say enough good things about him. He’s just the perfect man. Seriously [Laughs]. He’s just so kind, so sweet, and such a gentleman all the time.