Even while the producers of ‘Logan’ are pushing for Oscar nods and 20th Century Fox is counting the money they made this past year with the surprise hit, there are many who are looking toward the future and wondering what is next for the story that was opened with the last chapter of Logan’s life. Yep, I’m talking about the story of Laura, a.k.a. X-23 (Dafne Keen), who director James Mangold is keen to put into a sequel film now that ‘Logan’ was such a success and Laura turned out to be one of the break-out stars of the film.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director James Mangold, Hugh Jackman, and producer Hutch Parker spoke about the potential for the future with a movie about X-23, with Mangold saying:
“Patty [Jenkins’] success with [Wonder Woman] only solidifies more for studios that there’s less to fear with a female protagonist. The more that keeps getting hit home, that ends up giving me more space turning around and going, ‘Well here we are with a female protagonist. That’s incredible. And what are we going to do with her?’ And that’s where we are with that [the Laura script] right now, dreaming.”
While speaking on what tone or genre an X-23 film would be, Parker stated:
“Yes, there are other facets of that character and some others potentially to explore in their own way. It may not be in the same exact tonality or with the same genre orientations as Logan, but I think part of what has been opened up in this universe to all of us now is, drawing on different genre traditions, there are new pathways to be opened for new characters that populate this universe.”
Of course, an X-23 character in her own movie would be somewhat different from the X-23 of the comics at this point, as in the comics she is an adult, and in the movie universe, she is still just a younger teenager. That could, though, leave the door open for a lot more exploration of the character, her powers, and her place in the world, and separate her from the other female superheroes coming out of the woodwork at the moment who are all adults and fully grown into their abilities in their movies.
What are your thoughts on an X-23 movie? Would you want to see a continuation of the ‘Logan’ timeline? Or would you want them to eventually (after she gets her own stand-alone film, or two) somehow send Laura back to the past so she can join the main ‘X-Men’ franchise as the new Wolverine (similar to what the did with Old Man Logan in the comics)? Share your thoughts/opinions in the comments below!
