Laura from Logan may get her own spinoff. James Mangold (Walk the Line) and Craig Kyle (Thor: Ragnarok) are writing a script treatment, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Mangold recently co-wrote, directed and executive produced Logan, which introduced Laura to the X-Men movie universe. Kyle created the character, who was first introduced in the X-Men: Evolution TV series from 2003.
In Logan, [SPOILERS] Laura was revealed to have been born in a lab using a surrogate and the DNA of Wolverine, which makes her Wolverine’s biological daughter. Thus, she has inherited his bone claws, strength and regenerative abilities; and her bones have been covered in the same strong metal as Daddy’s to boot.
In the character’s storylines in other media, she is known as the superhero X-23. Laura is played by Dafne Keen (The Refugees) in Logan.
Mangold hopes the success of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman has opened the door for more female leads in movies.
“Patty’s success with that film only solidifies more for studios that there’s less to fear with a female protagonist,” Mangold said. “The more that keeps getting hit home, that ends up giving me more space turning around and going, ‘Well, here we are with a female protagonist. That’s incredible. And what are we going to do with her?’ And that’s where we are with that [Laura script] right now, dreaming.”
Hutch Parker, who has produced five X-Men films including the upcoming X-Men: Dark Phoenix, sees a different tone from Logan for the Laura spinoff. He said that Logan finding success in diverting from superhero tropes has allowed for the franchise to expand in new directions. That includes some new characters as well.
“Yes, there are other facets of [Laura] and some others potentially to explore in their own way,” Parker said. “It may not be in the same exact tonality or with the same genre orientations as Logan, but I think part of what has been opened up in this universe to all of us now is, drawing on different genre traditions, there are new pathways to be opened for new characters that populate this universe.”
Meanwhile, star Hugh Jackman said he’s still done with the franchise. Logan may have been the actor’s second biggest box office hit besides X-Men: Days of Future Past, but now he just wants to be a fan.
“No, I won’t be a producer on a Laura sequel,” he says. “But I will be lining up on the Thursday night at 10 p.m. to watch it though. She is just phenomenal.”
There are plenty of lines for X-Men movies that Jackman can line up for in the meantime: New Mutants on April 13, Deadpool 2 on Jun. 1, X-Men: Dark Phoenix on Nov. 2, 2018 and Gambit on Feb. 14, 2019. An X-Force movie is confirmed and may start production in 2018 and a New Mutant trilogy could be a thing as well. Fox has set aside release dates for Marvel movies on Jun. 7, 2019, Nov. 22, 2019, Mar. 13, 2020, Jun. 26, 2020, Oct. 2, 2020 and Mar. 5, 2021.
They know the girl from Logan will be 16 years old in 2021, right?
