Deadpool 3’s Timeline Ruins Hopes For 1 Wolverine Character

Any hopes for one character from Logan making their way to the MCU have now been dashed with new Deadpool 3 timeline hints. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are confirmed to be reprising their roles of Deadpool and Wolverine from Fox's X-Men universe in the upcoming Deadpool 3, the first characters to make a non-variant move from Fox to Marvel Studios in a project that will be taking place before the events of Jackman's previous final project, Logan. Speculation has been rising about which characters will be joining the pair in the MCU, with rumors suggesting Domino, Cable, and Vanessa could be joining too.

There was confusion after it was revealed that Jackman would be joining Reynolds in Deadpool 3 since the latter had previously hung up his iconic adamantium claws in Logan. This was previously confirmed to be both Jackman and Patrick Stewart's last hurrah as their legendary characters, and with Deadpool 3, both will have returned to their roles in the MCU after Stewart's appearance as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, it's been confirmed that Deadpool 3 will be taking place before Logan, which means the events of Logan won't be changed, but this does limit the characters who can appear in the upcoming MCU film.

Dafne Keen Won’t Be Reprising Her Logan Role In Deadpool 3

Logan introduced Laura, a.k.a. X-23, to the X-Men franchise, portrayed by His Dark Materials star Dafne Keen, who was immediately met with a hugely positive response. Laura is the biological daughter of Hugh Jackman's Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine, and when thrust into the arms of her reluctant father, the pair embark on a journey to the Canadian border in an effort for a new life for Laura and a future for mutantkind. After Jackman was confirmed to be returning as Wolverine in the MCU, many speculated that Keen would be following close behind.

Even so, Deadpool 3's new timeline reveal makes it impossible for Dafne Keen to reprise her Logan role in the MCU's upcoming project, as the character hadn't been introduced to Wolverine before the events of Logan. Logan takes place in 2029, and the current MCU is taking place sometime around 2024/25, meaning Wolverine and Laura are still four or five years from being introduced to each other. Some speculated that Laura could have become the MCU's permanent Wolverine, but this doesn't seem to be the case now that she won't be involved in Deadpool 3.

It’s Good That Laura Won’t Be In Deadpool 3

While it's disappointing not to see this much-loved Logan character again, her absence from Deadpool 3 could be the best thing for the MCU going forward. Marvel Studios has a huge task when introducing mutants and the X-Men into the MCU proper, as they will always be seen in competition with the team laid out in Fox's franchise, so Marvel needs to make some huge changes in their X-Men debut. This means scrapping the majority of the characters from the now-defunct universe, including those that have been popular with audiences. The MCU needs a fresh start, and this includes introducing a Wolverine viewers have never seen before.

Dafne Keen Could Still Appear In The MCU

There is a chance that Keen could reprise her Marvel role in the MCU's future projects, particularly in Phase 6's upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars. It's possible that Secret Wars could see several characters from various Marvel property franchises come together in a Battleworld scenario, akin to the Secret Wars storyline in Marvel Comics. This could mean that characters from the Fox X-Men franchise, the Sony Spider-Man franchise, and potentially other standalone projects such as Fox's Fantastic Four films could find themselves interacting in the same epic battle.

If this is the case, then Keen could make an appearance alongside Wolverine in Avengers: Secret Wars, perhaps portraying an alternate version of Laura to the one seen in Logan, since the actor has grown up a lot since her Marvel debut in 2017. This would be a fantastic way to finalize her story, potentially giving hints about what happened after she crossed the border with her new mutant friends at the end of Logan, and could potentially even introduce the character permanently to the MCU proper. In this way, her absence from Deadpool 3 would make any future appearances of Laura in the MCU all the more surprising.

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