It’s been nearly 20 years since X2: X-Men United opened in theaters, but Kelly Hu, who played the iconic X-Men villain Lady Deathstrike in the film says it would be “awesome” to play the character again. Hu spoke about her time playing the role in an interview with Comic Book Movie and when asked about the potential for the character to appear in the MCU with Spider-Man: No Way Home having opened up the Multiverse and paved the way for characters from the past to return, Hu was definitely on board—though she’d like to have some dialogue should there be another go around.
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“Yeah, it would be awesome to bring Lady Deathstroke back and actually have some dialogue this time,” Hu said. “It would be a lot more fun with dialogue.”
She also spoke about how she loved creating her version of the character for X2, one that, at the time, was visually very different from the character in comics.
“Of course, when you play these kinds of roles, you never know what the future holds,” Hu said “I knew that a lot of people were very excited about Lady Deathstrike. I have to admit, I was not a comic book fan, so I didn’t understand the impact of what it was to be able to play this role. I know from my friends, as I have a lot of comic book nerd friends, and they were so ecstatic about me getting this. I knew it was kind of a big deal. I loved being able to help recreate her as well. I got to be so involved with her new look. Lady Deathstrike in the film is very different to Lady Deathstrike in the comic books. It was fun to see, afterwards, how the comic book Deathstrike started looking more like the one I had helped create in the film. So, yeah, I feel honored that I get to have a little bit of creation as well in this comic book world through Lady Deathstrike, so it’s super fun to know you’ve had a little imprint on a character that is so beloved.”
Speculation as to when and how the X-Men will be brought into the story is something that seems to swirl around every new MCU offering. Many hoped that WandaVision would introduce the X-Men—and Evan Peter’s casting had that speculation at a fever pitch only for his “Pietro” to be an imposter—while most recent Spider-Man film has certainly laid an “anything is possible” framework with the multiverse. As for that multiverse and what it holds, as for what the MCU’s Multiverse holds, fans will find out more when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens in theaters on May 6th.
