After 17 years, two of the most recognizable X-Men in the movie world — Hugh Jackman's
Wolverine and Patrick Stewart's Professor Charles Xavier — have given their final
bows as their beloved characters.
Logan may be the most dystopian X-film, but it also represents a new beginning, introducing
a brand new character — Laura Kinney — played by Dafne Keen.
But what do we know about this fresh mutant hero and the young actress who portrays her?
Who is Laura Kinney?
Very simply put, Laura is a clone of Wolverine made by the Transigen Corporation, engineered
to do everything her genetic poppa can do.
Which is legitimately terrifying.
"No.
No.
No."
She shares Logan's superior strength, agility, and mutant healing abilities.
She's also been given dual adamantium claws on each hand, and has the added bonus of a
deadly claw on each foot.
In every sense but gender, she's Wolverine Junior, and her on-screen story closely mirrors
her comic book origins.
Writer Craig Kyle first created X-23 during the four-year run of the Warner Bros animated
series X-Men: Evolution.
Laura Kinney rapidly cut a swath of popularity through the superhero world, getting reverse-adapted
back into Marvel Comics, and landing two miniseries and an ongoing solo series.
Like Wolverine, X-23 was one of the X-Men's most successful upstarts, and also like Wolverine,
she's done time on several superhero squads, including the hyper-violent X-Force, the All-New
X-Men, and the Avengers Academy comic series.
Eventually, Laura was officially dubbed as the "All-New Wolverine" when the Marvel Universe
rebooted in 2016, a title she's carried since, as of the making of this video.
So it wouldn't be unrealistic to expect the movies to follow suit.
Who is Dafne Keen?
Born in 2005, Dafne Keen Fernandez is the child of a British father and a Spanish mother.
As a result, she's bilingual — one of the requirements for the role, since James Mangold
envisioned a Hispanic X-23.
She's also well-versed in gymnastics and martial arts, which were obviously also important
for the role of a girl who literally kills dozens of people with her floor routine.
Her mother is Spanish actress and playwright Maria Fernandez Ache, and her father is actor
Will Keen, both of whom have acted extensively for theater, film, and television in Spain
and the U.K.
Most recently, Mr. Keen landed a prominent recurring role as Michael Adeane in the Netflix
biographical drama The Crown.
Will Keen has also appeared on the longtime 1940s-era mystery series Foyle's War and the
TV series The Refugees, in which he co-starred with his daughter.
How'd she get the role?
In Logan, Dafne Keen's characterizations and feral intensity were leaps and bounds beyond
most child actors, immediately catching the attention of director James Mangold.
According to Mangold, her audition tape included moments where the young actress clambered
up bookshelves, prowling and tumbling around her parent's house.
After watching her run through a few scenes, the director was mesmerized enough by her
performance to immediately request a screen test.
And he admitted:
"The biggest question to me, was will you believe that this little girl is capable of
doing what the comics have proposed she can do?
I think in many ways, that's Dafne's amazing achievement … holding it all together."
In a role as physically and emotionally demanding as X-23, Keen was more than capable of bringing
the rage-filled mutant to life, even without speaking for most of the movie.
Unbelievably, this was only her second time on-screen.
Will X-23 return?
Hugh Jackman decided to step away from his 17-year run as the metal-boned mutant, so
a similarly named sequel is extremely unlikely, despite the amazing success of Logan.
But that doesn't mean X-23 won't reappear.
Recently, Keen and director James Mangold were both asked about their interest in the
continuing saga of Laura Kinney.
Mangold says he's "wide open to" the concept of more X-23, and the young starlet likewise
sounds interested in pursuing the role as well.
Keen explained her relationship with the character, telling The Hollywood Reporter,
"...she's complicated — she tries to be so strong but she feels so vulnerable at the
same time.
I really love her.
I'd love to keep playing her."
Of course, who wouldn't love to have a starring role in a comic book movie franchise, especially
at the age of 12?
Fox's X-Men producer-slash-writer Simon Kinberg already admitted an X-23 solo movie is a very
"real possibility," but at this time, the studio hasn't finalized any plans for a follow-up.
The explosive success of the final Wolverine outing will undoubtedly light up all sorts
of new possibilities for the future of the franchise, and there's no way they're leaving
the All-New Wolverine out of the action.
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