Logan director James Mangold is still interested in making an X-23 movie. The character was introduced in Mangold's 2017 movie and played by Dafne Keen. In 2017, comic book fans were excited about the idea of an X-23 movie possibly hitting theaters. The character was first introduced in the 2003 X-Men: Evolution animated series. She was later reintroduced and given a backstory in a limited comic run NYX, which had her as an underage prostitute. The story was controversial, to put it lightly.

Since James Mangold introduced Laura, aka X-23 on the big screen in Logan, comic fans were hoping a standalone movie would happen at some point. Mangold even confirmed that an X-23 script was being written after Laura appeared in the 2017 movie. However, things have gotten more difficult now that Disney owns Fox. Mangold was recently asked if he's still interested in making the movie. "Do I have an interest? Yes. Will it happen? At least in the near future, I doubt it," said the director.

Disney and Marvel Studios are taking the X-Men franchise and retooling it for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, James Mangold is probably right about his vision for an X-23 movie not happening, at least not for now. Dafne Keen could certainly return to the role after she finishes up work on HBO's expansive Golden Compass series, but it looks like Marvel Studios will be going for a whole new set of actors to take on the different roles, which is going to be pretty interesting since we've seen a number of people play these characters in recent years.

The female-led comic book movie has gained a whole lot of momentum over the past few years. DC's Wonder Woman is a prime example, as is this year's Captain Marvel. MCU fans also have Scarlett Johansson's standalone Black Widow movie hitting theaters next year, which has been asked about since 2010. An X-23 movie, especially done with James Mangold's style, could end up offering something completely different for comic book fans than the rest of these movies haven't been showing on the big screen, though Black Widow looks like it might be serving up some grit.

James Mangold is currently promoting his Ford v Ferrari movie, which is set to hit theaters on November 15th. The biopic tells the story of American engineers and designers, led by automotive visionary Carroll Shelby and his British driver, Ken Miles, played by Matt Damon and Christian Bale, respectively. The team is given the mission of building the Ford GT40, a new racing car with the potential to possibly defeat the dominant Ferrari racing team at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. Early reactions to the movie have been extremely positive, so Mangold will have his hands full for the next few months. The interview with Mangold can be seen below, thanks to the Playlist YouTube channel.