The biggest news out of D23 weekend has to be the announcement of the next generation of X-Men: Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Adam Driver as Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Milbury), Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Maya Boyd as Storm, Kit Connor as Cyclops and Christopher Abbott as Professor X. Of course, fans were quick to point out that there was no new Wolverine casting announcement, which means Hugh Jackman will probably continue to play the character, right? Well, maybe not.
Even though Jackman (57) still appeared on stage through a video (alongside an off-screen Ryan Reynolds) to lobby Feige for a spot in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, he wasn’t present during the X-Men announcement at all. And given that most of the actors who are playing the X-Men are much younger (ranging from 22 to 40 years old), it’s probably evident that Jackman’s 20th Century Fox Wolverine doesn’t fit in here at all. It’s also clear that Feige’s MCU X-Men will be leaving the Bryan Singer era behind — most probably at the end of Doomsday or in Secret Wars.
It’s also more likely that the first few films won’t feature a new Wolverine — which is actually the same way it went down in the Marvel comic books. Logan only joined the X-Men roster much later (Giant-Size X-Men #1), a full year after his 1974 comic book debut.
None of that is a surprise, of course. Jackman has spent the last 26 years convincing us that he is the one and only Wolverine. And while the MCU’s Deadpool & Wolverine changed all that, opening the possibilities for more than one version of the character, he might continue to be the only Wolverine for a while still. And even though most fans are hoping to see Henry Cavill’s Cavillrine show up in future Marvel films, the most likely Wolverine to appear in the MCU is probably Dafne Keen’s X-23, who first played Laura in Logan (2017).
The young actress has made it crystal clear over the years: she’s more than willing to continue her journey from the Fox films to the MCU as the X-Men‘s Wolverine. Well, under one condition.
Speaking to The Direct’s Russ Milheim at the Saturn Awards in Los Angeles, Keen shared her thoughts on returning to the MCU full-time. “I would like to see her [X-23] in a fun team-up,” she said. “I would also love to see Laura in smaller stories as well. I enjoyed playing her in Logan, which was much grittier. But I’d also be very, very open to a big whole action fight team-up with the Avengers.”
In other words, the 20-year-old actress is ready to take her character to the next step: joining the Avengers full-time. And her dreams might just come true.
RELATED: Dafne Keen Should Be The MCU’s Wolverine
Fan theories suggest that Avengers: Secret Wars could possibly change a lot of the MCU, introducing new characters and letting go of some of the older ones. One of the most interesting ideas floating around social media is that Dafne Keen’s X-23 could possibly be the MCU’s permanent Wolverine after the “soft reboot” events of Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
But Keen also isn’t so sure about letting go of Hugh Jackman just yet. When asked if she’d be open to being the MCU’s main Wolverine, her response was classic: “Well, can we both [Laura and Logan] be there? Yeah? OK, good. If we’re both there, I’d be really happy… Honestly, anything that involves Laura, I’d be down to do.”
If the Multiverse Saga has taught us anything over the years, it’s that anything is possible. Robert Downey Jr. is back as Doctor Doom. Anthony and Joe Russo are back in the director’s chairs. Thanos could be returning as a good guy. Mark Ruffalo might be getting his World War Hulk movie. And maybe… just maybe, Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen could play Wolverine and X-23 alongside each other for years to come.
The D23 announcement didn’t give us all the answers, but it did narrow it down. Jackman is still teasing more Wolverine — probably first in Avengers: Doomsday, out December 18, 2026, where still-unconfirmed plot leaks have placed him in the film’s opening sequence alongside Deadpool.
Feige’s MCU X-Men reboot, meanwhile, is its completely own thing, being built from the ground up again. They’re starting from scratch. But when you set that news alongside the clues we’ve had over the last while, don’t write off the idea of Dafne Keen being the universe’s Wolverine. If Logan can’t be replaced, there’s only one logical next step: get his daughter in there. That way, they can keep Jackman’s version on the Avengers side of the timeline and Keen’s on the other. That way, they get to satisfy all the fans without breaking any hearts.
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