Dafne Keen Talks ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and Reuniting With Hugh Jackman
Leading up to the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Dafne Keen was adamant that she would not reprise her role as X-23/Laura in the film.
With Marvel making it clear that they did not want Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine to undermine the emotional impact of Logan, fans seemed to take Keen’s assertions at face value.
Photo: Marvel
However, just days before the latest film hit theaters, Marvel released one last trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine. Sure enough, the new clip featured Keen’s X-23 encouraging Wolverine in the Void.
How Keen’s Return Came About
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Keen reflected on how her Marvel return came about.
“I am not really sure, but I’ve spoken to Shawn [Levy] about this. I think it was a question of how they were going to approach telling Wolverine’s story after Logan without ruining the legacy Logan had left,” Keen recalled.
Photo: Variety
“Shawn told me this lovely story about him reading this scene where Deadpool was telling Wolverine about X–23, and thinking, ‘Maybe we should just have X-23.’ To me, she’s a big emotional motor for Wolverine, and Wolverine is her entire emotional motor. So the thought process behind it is that she brings a lot of humanity and empathy to his character, and after they all thought of it together, I was very, very lucky to get that phone call.”
Reuniting with Jackman
When Keen made her film debut alongside Jackman in 2017’s Logan, she was just 12 years old. When the two reunited on the Deadpool & Wolverine set. Needless to say, it was an emotional moment.
Photo: Fox
“The first reunion we had was after I had the costume fitting where I met the random cameo. I was halfway through the fitting and they were like, ‘Hugh is on stage next door and he really wants to see you. Can you just rush out?’” Keen recalled.
Photo: KTVB
“I was trying on jeans, so I had tags hanging off me, but I was like, “Yeah, sure!” I then ran over while they were approving a set, and I just walked in and Hugh was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s you!’ And then we hugged, and it was really crazy because we hadn’t seen each other in ages. He was like, ‘Oh my God, you’re so tall.’ And I was like, ‘Well, you haven’t seen me since I was 12.’ (Laughs.) So we hugged, but it was very quick because we were both being rushed.
Eventually, the duo was able to catch up off-set.
Photo: The Hollywood Reporter
“The first scene we shot was a very random one that Hugh and I barely have dialogue in, so we just got to catch up off camera, which was really sweet.”
Laura’s Reveal in the Final Trailer
According to Marvel head Kevin Feige, the decision to reveal Keen’s return in the final Deadpool & Wolverine trailer was made to preview “an emotional core of the movie.” By revealing Keen’s cameo early, however, Marvel also made it possible for the actress to attend the film’s premiere.
Photo: Marvel
While director Shawn Levy eventually called Keen from Rio de Janeiro to let her know that Marvel was including X-23 in the last trailer, Keen had already considered other ways to attend the premiere.
“There were talks of me going to the premiere and pretending to be Hugh’s plus-one, which would’ve been hilarious. Everyone would’ve been like, ‘What the [heck] is this kid doing here? Obviously, you’re in the film.’”
Photo: Deadline
Deadpool & Wolverine is in theaters now.
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