Deadpool & Wolverine: Dafne Keen Reveals How She Approached "Heartbreaking" Reunion with Hugh Jackman

X-23 star Dafne Keen discusses her reunion with Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine.

By Timothy Adams

Dafne Keen dives into her heartbreaking reunion with Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine. The first X-Men movie to be released under the Marvel Studios banner has been a bonafide hit at the box office, breaking records and cementing it as the must-see movie of 2024. Much of that can be attributed to the many cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine, including Dafne Keen reprising her role as Laura Kinney / X-23. Deadpool & Wolverine spoiled X-23's return in its final trailer, but that doesn't mean she doesn't play an important role in the film. It's the first time fans have seen Keen and Hugh Jackman reunited on screen since 2017's Logan, and the actress had many emotions to balance.

ComicBook's Phase Zero podcast spoke to Dafne Keen about all things related to Deadpool & Wolverine, and we asked the X-23 star about how she got in the mindset to reunite with a different Wolverine variant than the one who sacrificed himself for her in Logan.

"There's something so wonderfully tragic... she never got to say she loved him or that she's grateful to him, and she's getting this opportunity now but it's not really him," Dafne Keen said. "So it's working with the tragedy that it's so close, yet so far. The closest she'll get is telling this man she essentially just met, but she loves because he's Logan, how much she cares about him. She can't say too much because he doesn't know her, but she knows him. It's so heartbreaking and so genius for them." You can watch the interview in the player above.

Deadpool & Wolverine World Premiere
(Photo:

Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen at the Deadpool & Wolverine World Premiere

- Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Disney)

How Andrew Garfield inspired Dafne Keen's Marvel return in Deadpool & Wolverine

Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield was part of the inspiration behind Dafne Keen's return in Deadpool & Wolverine. Garfield and Tobey Maguire shocked comic book movie fans by reprising their roles as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Deadpool & Wolverine came with the same anticipation for returns with some cameos spoiled ahead of time, while others were largely rumored. One rather large cameo spoiled by Marvel Studios was Dafne Keen's Laura Kinney / X-23 from 2017's Logan appearing in the final trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine. The actor commented on her reunion with Wolverine star Hugh Jackman, and how Garfield helped keep her Marvel return a secret.

Entertainment Weekly released an interview with Dafne Keen shortly after the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer dropped. "I had a great time keeping it secret. I had to do a bunch of press for a job that I just finished," Keen said, referring to her role in the Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte. "I got asked in every interview, and I just got to lie, which was really funny."

But when it came to keeping her big Deadpool & Wolverine appearance a secret, Keen gave all the kudos to Andrew Garfield. "All the inspo comes from Andrew Garfield," she said. "He is the master at this."

What is Deadpool & Wolverine about?

In Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). The film also stars Matthew Macfadyen as Paradox, and Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, with the return of Deadpool alums Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Karan Soni as Dopinder, Stefan Kapičić as Piotr Rasputin/Colossus, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Rob Delaney as Peter, and Lewis Tan as Shatterstar. Aaron Stanford is returning as Pyro from the X-Men film series, with Jennifer Garner rumored to return as Elektra Natchios. 

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Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D'Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey and Simon Kinberg serving as executive producers. Deadpool & Wolverine is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy. Deadpool & Wolverine was released exclusively in theaters on July 26th.

Photo credit Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Disney

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