Logan Director James Mangold Still Wants to Direct a X-23 Spin-Off

It may be hard to believe, but it has been two years since Hugh Jackman hung up his claws at Wolverine. The actor bid farewell to the role with Logan, and the R-rated film helped usher in a new kind of comic book movie. Directed by James Mangold, Logan earned universal praise for its vision, and many have wondered whether the filmmaker would revisit the world he built for the X-Men.

As it turns out, Mangold is very interested in exploring more of Logan’s world. During a recent interview, the director spoke with The Playlist about his desire to direct a movie about X-23, but Mangold doesn’t believe such a project will happen any time soon.

“Do I have an interest? Yes,” Mangold answered when asked if he still has an interest in doing a X-23 film.

Of course, fans would be thrilled to learn more about Laura Kinney and her journey after Logan ends. The character became a quick favorite after making an appearance on the big screen, but her future has become rather complicated as of late. Two years ago, 20th Century Fox had the film rights for X-Men, but the company has since sold their Marvel licenses to Disney. Now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has room to play with the X-Men, and that may be why Mangold is less-than-optimistic about a spin-off happening.

“Will it happen? At least in the near future, I doubt it,” the director said.

This is not the first time Mangold has spoken about his interest in overseeing a film about X-23. Back in 2017, the director spoke with ComicBook.com, and it was there he said he was interested in such a project. His support was backed by Dafne Keen, the young actress who played X-23 on the big screen. Since then, no movement has been made on such a standalone, and it seems like any secret plans stalled when Disney bought out Fox’s film rights. Now, the only thing fans can do is hope Mangold gets to tackle the X-Men again under the MCU umbrella or finds a new superhero series to work with.

Do you think X-23 should get a solo film under the MCU? Or start over fresh from the start? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!