Deadpool & Wolverine has been promoted to feature numerous surprising cameos, leading to several theories and assumptions. One of the many rumored cameos is Dafne Keen’s X-23. Though the Star Wars: The Acolyte actress herself denied the claims repeatedly, the final trailer confirmed her return as Laura Kinney seven years after James Mangold’s 2017 Logan. As many were surprised that Marvel Studios dropped this major spoiler early, Kevin Feige explained why they decided to show X-23’s appearance in the threequel.
In an interview with Variety, Feige revealed a few reasons why they chose to spoil X-23’s cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. For one, Keen wanted to attend the premiere night in New York City but couldn’t do so because it would be a huge spoiler. Fortunately for her, Disney wanted to unveil her character to tease “an emotional core of the movie.”
“Disney marketing knows exactly when to push a little forward and pull a little back,” the Marvel Studios president said. “It was great in the final trailer, and that meant Dafne could come to the premiere.”
Deadpool & Wolverine won’t only mark the return of Keen as X-23 after Logan. As a final installment in Fox’s Wolverine trilogy, it was supposed to be Hugh Jackman’s final appearance as Logan / Wolverine. However, the actor had a change of heart and returned to reprise his iconic role in the upcoming third Deadpool movie. Though Feige earlier advised Jackman not to return after his character’s perfect sendoff, they found a way not to ruin that and feature his triumphant comeback.
Kevin Feige Talks About Hugh Jackman’s Return in Deadpool & Wolverine
In a different interview with ScreenRant, Feige recalled questioning Jackman about rushing back after perfectly nailing his sendoff in Logan while Marvel Studios were working on Anthony and Joe Russo’s 2019 Avengers: Endgame. To the actor’s credit, he followed the Marvel chief’s order until they started developing Deadpool & Wolverine with Ryan Reynolds and director Shawn Levy.
Sure, many ideas, scenes, and storylines came up, but they noticed something still needed to be added. Aside from doing another Deadpool movie, they wanted to create something more than seeing Wade Wilson return. So, when Jackman called Reynolds and decided to join the film, Feige revealed that was when everything worked out.
“By that point, we were in our Multiverse Saga. We had access to fun things like the Time Variance Authority, and we could do both,” he said. “We could maintain the legacy of Logan in a somewhat respectful way and bring Hugh as another incarnation.”
That said, among the many things fans must see in Deadpool & Wolverine, it includes seeing the return of Wolverine after his supposed death in Logan. Of course, after having an emotional conversation with Wolverine in the trailer, they should also see X-23’s role in the film.
Deadpool & Wolverine is set to hit theaters on Friday, July 26.
