James Mangold‘s Logan was a perfect end to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. That movie might be one of the best comic book films that has been made. Yeah, Jackman is coming back to reprise his role in Deadpool 3, but that movie will not mess with the story that Logan delivered.
One of the bright spots in Logan was Dafne Keen, who took on the role of X-23. She was amazing in that movie, and I would’ve loved to see a spinoff film that continued her story. She deserved a film of her own! According to Mangold, it was actually being planned, but after Disney bought Fox they scrapped it.
While a guest on the Happy Sad Confused Podcast, Mangold confirmed plans for the film, but he never got around to writing a script. He said:
“I never had a script. I started working on a story, but I don’t think of that as a universe. I just loved the character. I thought Dafne [Keen] is such an incredibly dazzling actress. I mean, I thought… you talk about gambles on movies, the amount of weight we put on an 11-year-old girl in that movie.”
It was because of Keen’s performance and the response from fans that made him want to do a spinoff film. He went on to say:
“I mean, it’s happened. ‘Paper Moon’ with Tatum O’Neal or ‘The Exorcist.’ There’s movies where the child performance just shocks everyone in its depth, but she was so miraculous in that movie and fierce. And I think people responded on so many levels to it, even people with just difficult children recognize Logan’s plight trying to kind of deal with her. But I was really curious about how that would work.”
Unfortunately, we’ll never get to see her story explored further, which is a shame. I think a movie based on her character would’ve been a big hit! X-23 creator Craig Kyle previously shared his thoughts on where the story should go saying:
“We know the kids were created and tested. I’d love to see some of the stories that we told [in the comics], see as much as we can of how she came to be, but then really get into the stories of what she was forced to do and commit. She said she killed people. She said bad people. The bulk of who X-23 and Laura killed in the comic books were bad people, but she did kill some children. She did kill a whole press corps. I think there’s something powerful about watching her go through those horrors without any say and without any ability to not take those actions.
“A story I always wanted to tell was, once she’s free and once she’s gone through what she’s gone through, the only way she can have a hope for a future is for her to go back and trace the lives that remained and were harmed by the actions she was forced to commit. You put her on this journey of redemption. She faces the families that lost fathers. The orphans, everyone that was touched by her horrific acts. And she can go through them one by one and face everyone affected by the murders she was forced to commit, if she can get to the end of that road without being killed by those that remain, there’s something on the other side of that. I think it would truly be transformative for the character.”
Would you have liked to see an X-23 movie with Keen back in the role? It could still be done! Marvel should just do it.