Is Dafne Keen in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine?’

Deadpool & Wolverine is closing in on us as the only major theatrical release coming out of Marvel Studios this year. And by golly, the studio seems all but determined to make this one count like never before.

Indeed, whether or not the film will fulfill its glorious purpose as “Marvel Jesus” by paving the way to a less-disappointing future remains to be seen, but the hype factor in Deadpool & Wolverine‘s latest trailer especially is off the charts; gore, big-screen TVA shenanigans, and a swath of Fox universe characters await.

And they saved the most exciting reveal for last.

Is Dafne Keen in Deadpool & Wolverine?

For those of you not in the know, Dafne Keen portrayed X-23 (aka Laura, aka Talon), the somewhat-biological daughter of Wolverine, in the 2017 film Logan. Interestingly, Logan would have been the last film that Hugh Jackman portrayed the Canadian mutant in, had Deadpool & Wolverine not come calling.

Naturally, since Keen had such a major role in the single greatest Fox universe X-Men film, folks were wondering if she could pop back up as X-23 in Deadpool & Wolverine.

Well, she has; X-23, now all grown up, appears in this latest and final trailer for the highly-anticipated MCU bastion, seemingly serving as a loud reminder that Wolverine is precisely the hero that he thinks he isn’t.

The beauty of this cameo isn’t solely rooted in nostalgia, either; what makes this last trailer so powerful is the way it roots itself in the emotions of these characters. Deadpool, the perennial jokester, actually harbors a very deep love for his found family, while Wolverine continues to guiltily reel from the loss of his own. Who better, then, to remind James “Logan” Howlett of exactly who he is than Laura, his daughter in every way that matters, and who was just one of the many young mutants who owe their lives to Wolverine’s ionate tenacity and heroism?

Deadpool & Wolverine spices up theaters on July 26.