X2’s Kelly Hu is opening up about the possibility of returning as Lady Deathstrike in a future MCU project and she seems to game for it if they’re willing to have her.
Hu appeared as Yuriko Oyama aka Lady Deathstrike in 2003’s X2: X-Men United. The character’s backstory was changed in the film to make her another mutant with headline abilities that were similar to Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman). In the comics, Lady Deathstrike is a cyborg who had adamantium bonded to her skeleton in addition to other cybernetic enhancements, including 12-inch adamantium claws coming from her fingers. Hu’s Lady Deathstrike doesn’t have many scenes in the film but she is featured the most prominently during a face-off against Wolverine during the film’s final act.
During a recent chat with ComicBookMovie, Hu was asked if there was any potential for her to come back as the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Hu joked that she would love the opportunity to “have some dialogue this time” and she seemed very open to coming back as the character:
“Yeah, it would be awesome to bring Lady Deathstrike back and actually have some dialogue this time [Laughs]. It would be a lot more fun with dialogue.”
It’s true that Hu didn’t exactly have much to do in the film until her big fight scene towards the end of the movie. She certainly handled the physical aspects of the role well but it wasn’t a character that was given much depth. The idea of the multiverse has opened up the possibilities for bringing in previous Marvel films into the MCU so fans have begun to run away with this concept by hoping for the return of certain characters and the original actors that portrayed them. I’m not sure a Lady Deathstrike return is in the cards since she did seemingly die at the end of her fight with Wolverine in X2 but these are comic book films so I suppose anything could happen.
Would YOU want to see Kelly Hu return as Lady Deathstrike in the MCU?