Dafne Keen Set for Deadpool 3 as New Trailer Shows X-23, Lady Deadpool

Marvel Studios’ final trailer for “Deadpool & Wolverine” has let two of the movie’s big surprises out of the bag. One is that Lady Deadpool will be popping up alongside many other variants of the Merc with the Mouth. Various teasers for the Marvel tentpole had tipped off Lady Deadpool’s arrival, but this final trailer unveils the character in all her glory for the first time. Now fans will have to speculate which actor is under the mask (Blake Lively? Taylor Swift?).

The bigger reveal in the final “Deadpool & Wolverine” is the appearance of Dafne Keen, who memorably played the child mutant X-23 opposite Hugh Jackman in 2017’s “Logan.” That film was supposed to be Jackman’s final outing as his iconic X-Men character, that is until he agreed to play Wolverine once again in the new “Deadpool” movie. Jackman has stressed that he’s playing a different iteration of Wolverine and not the one who died in “Logan,” so it was anyone’s guess if Keen would actually appear in the new film.

For what it’s worth, Keen had been telling press during promotion for her performance on “The Acolyte” that she would not be popping up in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” She even told On Demand Entertainment on the “The Acolyte” red carpet that she was sad not to get the chance to reunite with Jackman.

“Of course it’s sad. I love Hugh and creatively, I love Ryan [Reynolds] and I love Shawn [Levy],” Keen said. “I’m really excited to see what they’ve made. I think Shawn is one of the best directors out there right now. Obviously, Ryan’s a legend. It would have been amazing to be part of it, but I’ll just go watch it as a fan, to see my old buddy in it.”

Just as the final “Deadpool & Wolverine” trailer debuted online, Entertainment Weekly published an interview with Keen where she opened up about returning as X-23.

“All the inspo comes from Andrew Garfield,” Keen said about misdirecting the press, referring to how Garfield always lied about returning as Spider-Man before the release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” “He is the master at this.”

Keen said she “immediately screamed” when her agent called with news that she’d been asked to return as X-23, adding: “I dropped my phone in the bath. I had to put it in rice; it was a whole thing. I was a bit freaked out. I was like, ‘I will have forgotten how to play her. She’s not in me anymore.’”

The actor ended up rewatching “Logan” before filming her “Deadpool & Wolverine” scenes.

“As soon as they said, ‘Rolling!’ I really felt like we were back doing Logan. It was like eight years hadn’t passed,” Keen added.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” opens in theaters July 26. Watch the final trailer in the video below.