Logan: James Mangold hints at the return of X-23

Director James Mangold hints at the return of Laura Kinney, a.k.a. X-23.

Even before the first trailer for Logan was released, fans were speculating that the girl in the various on-set image leaks was none other than Laura Kinney, a.k.a. X-23. When it was confirmed that Logan’s clone would play a pivotal role in the film, fans went crazy.

Via SuperHeroHype, director James Mangold, actor Hugh Jackman, and producer Hutch Parker had a Q&A session after a special screening of the black and white Logan Noir. One of the questions posed to Mangold was whether or not he would like to see the return of actress Dafne Keen as X-23. Mangold’s answers gave hopeful fans something to chew on:

"Anything’s possible … I’ve certainly talked to them about it. I even talked to them about it before we made the movie. I thought she was just such a great character, but with what Dafne did, I think that certainly that’s possible."

“Them” refers to 20th Century Fox, as they own the X-Men franchise. X-23 was definitely one of the highlights of Logan. The R-rated movie served as the final outing for Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart—both having played their respective characters for almost two decades.

Created by Craig Kyle, X-23 made her first appearance in the X-Men: Evolution animated series in an episode titled “X-23.” The character later made her comic book debut in 2004 in the series NYX.

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X-23 was to be a perfect copy of Wolverine, but the only genetic sample from Weapon X was damaged and the Y-chromosome couldn’t be salvaged. Scientist Sarah Kinney proposes the idea of a genetic twin to compensate for the damaged sample. On the twenty-third try, the research team succeeded in creating a viable embryo. However, a spiteful scientist named Zander Rice forced Kinney to carry the embryo to term.

When X-23 was born, the child was subjected to years of torture and radiation poisoning—all for the purpose of activating her latent mutant abilities. Rice later extracted X-23’s claws, coated them with admantium, and reinserted them. This was done without any form of anesthetic.

To make her into the perfect weapon, Rice developed a scent that caused X-23 to go into a murderous rampage. The facility then trained her to become a hired assassin.

Next: Logan review: A beautifully crafted finale

Production Details

Logan—Official Synopsis

"In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces."

Logan was released in the United States on March 3, 2017

The film is directed by James Mangold, written by Michael Green and David James Kelly, based on the series Old Man Logan by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, and stars Hugh Jackman as James Howlett / Logan / Wolverine, Dafne Keen as Laura Kinney / X-23, Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce, Richard E. Grant as Dr. Zander Rice, Stephen Merchant as Caliban, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X, Eriq La Salle as Will Munson, Elise Neal as Kathryn Munson, and Elizabeth Rodriquez as Gabriela Lopez.