If you first watched Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) tussle with Yuriko Oyama, aka Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu), in 2003’s X2: X-Men United, you might find yourself echoing Logan’s words at the start of the showdown: “Holy shit.” More than 20 years later, the fight between these two super-healing individuals with adamantium-infused skeletons still ranks as one of the most brutal mutant confrontations in any of 20th Century Fox’s X-Men films. Although the film is limited by its PG-13 rating, this sequence manages to provide plenty of scary moments, culminating in Lady Deathstrike’s horrific fate, dying via an injection of liquefied adamantium. The fact that she is forced to serve the despicable William Stryker (Brian Cox) throughout the film, who uses a mind control serum to rob her of her ability to act, only adds to the greater tragedy of the character.

With that in mind, it might have felt odd if Hu had reprised her “X2” role for “Deadpool & Wolverine.” As odd as it is to see Wesley Snipes’ Blade in a Marvel action comedy that looks and sounds quite different from the actor’s previous outings as the Daywalker, it might have been even stranger if Hu had been one of the many Marvel-Fox alumni making a cameo in the film. It’s one thing for Tyler Mane to return as Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth, from 2000’s “X-Men” — a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood who’s just an asshole — and quickly get decapitated by Wolverine. Bringing Hu back to play a mutant who was cruelly disowned of her own volition and then slaughtered by Logan just wouldn’t have had the wistful fanservice effect that “Deadpool & Wolverine” is going for.

Maybe that’s why it’s better that Lady Deathstrike was played by a different actor in the film – giving an up-and-coming stuntwoman the chance to shine in a superhero mega-blockbuster.

While Hu’s “X2” co-star Aaron Stanford returned to the big screen as John Allerdyce, aka Pyro, in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Lady Deathstrike is instead brought to life by Jade Lye in the film. The actress, who you can see behind Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) in the image above, has been working as a stunt performer for several years. In addition to her role as Supergirl in “The Flash” (2023), she has done stunt work in films such as Tim Burton’s live-action “Dumbo” and “Meg 2: The Trench,” in addition to TV shows such as “Game of Thrones” and “Lioness” (in which she doubled for Zoe Saldaña).

To celebrate Deadpool & Wolverine crossing the $1 billion mark at the box office, Lye posted several behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram showing off her practical metal fingernails in the film (in addition to pictures of herself with other cast and crew members). She also gave a “special thanks” to the film’s second unit director and supervising stunt coordinator George Cottle, as well as her “amazing” hair and makeup team. She added, “[Morning]is something I will never forget and is very special and loved every moment! I will cherish all the great times on set with such a talented team!”

Hu is far from the only “X-Men” veteran not brought back for “Deadpool & Wolverine,” but when you think about it, her exclusion makes perfect sense. A great movie would need to be made that truly explores Wolverine’s violent legacy in the Fox-Marvel film universe (including the killing of Hu’s Lady Deathstrike and other victims of humanity’s anti-mutant prejudice) — in fact, it’s already been made, and it’s called “Logan.” But that, for better or worse, is simply not what “Deadpool & Wolverine” had in mind with its own look back at that bygone era of Marvel media.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is currently in theaters.