After seventeen years of playing the character in nine movies, Logan sees Hugh Jackman popping his claws as Wolverine for the last time. Though the character (and the entire X-Men franchise) has seen some ups and downs, Logan is a pitch-perfect sendoff for the actor and the character. The future of Wolverine could see the character recast, something Jackman has said he hopes will happen, but for now the focus is on the present. Wowing critics and audiences alike, the film's opening is breaking worldwide records with a global box office total of $237 million from its opening weekend. And it's only going to grow from there.
While much of the press for the film is focused on the performances and departures of Jackman and Patrick Stewart, the movie's third star has been getting a lot of attention. At 11, Dafne Keen is relatively new to acting and Logan marks her first film role. After seeing her as Laura, aka X-23, many would agree she's got a big future in the industry ahead of her. Part of that will likely be in the X-Men franchise, as Logan serves as the perfect origin story for the character. The producers of the film have already said they're open to an X-23 spinoff, but is Keen?
Comic Book asked her that very question during an interview ahead of the film, and Keen responded with a brief "Yes." Assuming she enjoyed the process of making Logan, it's not hard to imagine her wanting to spend more time with the character. And given Laura's rich comic book history, and Keen's powerful perfomnce, it's easy to understand why Fox would want to highlight her further.
We're unlikely to hear anything about an X-23 spinoff for awhile, but we can certainly speculate. It's safe to assume Keen is locked into a multi-picture deal, and Fox is unlikely to discard the character. As the current Wolverine in the comics, she could certainly take up Jackman's mantle. What's more, the future setting of Logan frees the writers of an X-23 spinoff from continuity issues (not that they've stopped Fox in the past). Laura also has a long, complicated histroy following her escape from the lab she was made in. We can't see her time as a prostitute being put on film, but perhaps her work with the X-Men or X-Force.
The bigger barrier to an X-23 spinoff is a relative unknown preteen leading a superhero solo film. Given a few years and some other projects, this could change. It would also be a great chance to break the mold (and make an R-Rated X-23 movie). Then again, X-23 could always be added to an X-Force film. With the un-aging Deadpool and the time traveling Cable involved, the fact that Laura's in 2029 won't really be an issue. There are a lot of ways an X-23 solo movie could work, but for now, we'll just have to keep dreaming them up until we get any further news. In the meantime, there's still plenty of time to rewatch Keen's performance in Logan.
Source: Comic Book
