Not Quite So X-Cellent: 'Logan' Producer Reveals Why X-23 Isn't Joining The X-Men Movies

The #Logan gambit has certainly been in full swing to promote the film's home release and Logan Noir, once again reminding us just what made #JamesMangold's masterpiece so great. Among the highlights were the atmospheric spaghetti western vibes, an emotional farewell to #HughJackman's 17 years as #Wolverine, and #DafneKeen's performances as Laura Kinney, a.k.a. #X23.

Since Logan trundled off into the unknown, there have been obvious questions about where the stories go next or whether it opened the door to Kinney's entrance into the rest of the #XMen universe and an even more convoluted franchise timeline. Now, we have a definitive answer — it's a big, fat, nope!

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Logan producer Hutch Parker spoke to IGN about the X-23 issue and doused the flames of expectation that Keen will be reprising her role anytime soon. In particular, Parker was quizzed on the chances of Keen's involvement in the likes of Josh Boone's #NewMutants:

"I don't know definitively, but in terms of the stuff we've been talking about, it's not sort of slipping her into the background of another movie. It's looking at that character, which is a great character and has a pretty interesting run within the comics, to find a story that we think she could carry or certainly be kind of majorly significant within.”

It is a double-edged sword. While Parker counts Laura Kinney out of any film on the upcoming slate, he also remains adamant that X-23 COULD have her own solo-film:

“That's the only kind of thing that Jim [Mangold] as a storyteller, a filmmaker...that's the way his sort of process works. And the way his mind works in terms of what he would aspire to. Which isn’t to say that the studio couldn’t have a conversation about something else, but the one that we've been kind of discussing loosely and kicking around is more likely to be its own film.”

It would make sense that we move forward with Mangold's vision of the character and the apocalyptic future of Logan, rather than awkwardly slot Kinney into the present timeline. Either way, it doesn't sound like Fox has even gotten past the pipe dream stage with any ideas at the moment. With Deadpool 2, New Mutants, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and even Gambit floating around (somewhere), the studio has more than enough powered proteges to concentrate on.

While it is a bit of a bummer that X-23 isn't slated to appear in any of the upcoming projects, it makes sense that Fox is keen to establish other characters like Sunspot, who will play a big part in New Mutants and Deadpool 2. Thankfully, Dafne Keen was a breakout star of this year's R-rated rumble and even Jackman himself has tipped Kinney for her own film. With some reshuffling, it could definitely work, so expect X-23 to pop out that little foot claw at some point in the distant future of mutants and monsters.

(Source: IGN)