Logan (film)

Logan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Mangold
Screenplay by	Scott Frank James Mangold Michael Green
Story by	James Mangold
Produced by	Hutch Parker Simon Kinberg Lauren Shuler Donner
Starring	Hugh Jackman Patrick Stewart Boyd Holbrook Stephen Merchant Richard E. Grant Dafne Keen
Cinematography	John Mathieson
Edited by	Michael McCusker Dirk Westervelt
Music by	Marco Beltrami
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	February 17, 2017 (2017-02-17) (Berlin) March 3, 2017 (2017-03-03) (United States)
Running time	137 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$97 million
Box office	$606.6 million

Logan is a 2017 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine, produced by Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, and The Donners' Company, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the tenth installment in the X-Men film series, as well as the third and final Wolverine solo film following X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013). The film takes inspiration from "Old Man Logan" by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, which follows a past-his-prime Logan undertaking a final adventure in the post-apocalyptic future.

The film is directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Frank and Michael Green, from a story by David James Kelly and Mangold. Hugh Jackman stars as Logan in his final portrayal of the character after having played the role for 17 years, with Patrick Stewart co-starring as Charles Xavier. Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Dafne Keen, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal and Elizabeth Rodriguez are all featured in supporting roles. Principal photography began in Louisiana on May 2, 2016 and ended on August 19, 2016 in New Mexico. The locations used for Logan were mainly Louisiana, New Mexico and Mississippi.

Logan premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 3, 2017, in standard and IMAX formats. It received praise from critics and audiences, with many calling it one of the best superhero films of all time, and has grossed over $606 million worldwide against its $97 million budget, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2017.

Plot

In the year 2029, mutants are on the brink of extinction, with no new mutants having been born in 25 years. James "Logan" Howlett, formerly known as Wolverine, spends his days working as a chauffeur in Texas. His healing factor has faltered and, as a result, his body has aged greatly and his adamantium skeleton is poisoning him. Logan lives with mutant tracker Caliban in an abandoned smelting plant across the Mexican border, where they care for Professor Charles Xavier, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease which causes him to lose control of his telepathic abilities to destructive effect. One day, Logan is approached by Gabriela Lopez, a nurse for biotechnology corporation Alkali-Transigen, who wants him to escort her and an 11-year-old girl named Laura to a place in North Dakota called "Eden".

After reluctantly accepting the job from Gabriela, Logan discovers that she has been murdered. He, Xavier, and Laura narrowly escape from her killer, Transigen's cybernetically-enhanced chief of security Donald Pierce, and his enforcers, the Reavers, but Caliban is captured and forced to use his powers to track them. Logan and Xavier learn that Laura is one of several mutant children Transigen was breeding using DNA samples from several mutants for the "X-23" project, and that upon completion of the "X-24" project, the children were deemed obsolete and were to be euthanized. Gabriela helped several children escape from the Transigen compound before smuggling Laura, who is revealed to have been created from Logan's DNA, across the border.

The Reavers catch up with them in Oklahoma City, but Xavier suffers a seizure and telepathically freezes everyone in their hotel, allowing Logan to kill the attackers before injecting Xavier with a suppressant and escaping. While on the highway, the trio helps farmer Will Munson and his family after a traffic incident. The Munsons invite them over for dinner, and they accept under the guise of being a trigenerational family. When a nearby pipe springs a leak, Logan and Will leave the house to fix it.

While Logan is gone, Xavier recalls a telepathic seizure he had in Westchester, where he inadvertently killed several civilians and X-Men. He expresses his guilt to a person he thinks is Logan, but who is actually X-24, a feral clone of Logan with a limited healing factor. X-24 fatally stabs Xavier before murdering Will's family. When Logan and Will return, Xavier succumbs to his wound and dies, while Caliban sacrifices himself by setting off two grenades to destroy the Transigen van in which he is being held captive. Logan engages X-24, who gains the upper hand, but Will drives a car into X-24 and impales him. Will shoots X-24 before dying, allowing Logan and Laura to escape.

After burying Xavier, Logan passes out from exhaustion. He wakes up in a clinic that Laura had driven him to, but refuses to get further treatment and wants to abandon the trip. Laura convinces him to complete it, and they arrive at Eden, a safe haven run by Rictor and the other Transigen test subjects that managed to escape. Logan learns that the children plan to journey across the Canadian border and decides to part ways with them. However, when the children are intercepted by the Reavers, Logan uses a serum that temporarily restores his healing factor to intervene. Dr. Zander Rice, the head of Transigen whose father had been slain by Wolverine during his escape from Weapon X, pacifies Logan and reveals that the destruction of mutantkind is due to a genetic dampener forged by his company, which hid it among food and drinks. Horrified and outraged, Logan shoots Rice dead before Pierce releases a regenerated X-24, which engages Logan. The children wipe out the remaining Reavers before killing Pierce with their powers.

Logan and Laura fight X-24, with Rictor using his seismic powers to help them. However, X-24 brutally impales Logan on the branches of a fallen tree, but is killed when Laura shoots him with an adamantium bullet Logan had been keeping since Weapon X. Mortally wounded, Logan tells Laura not to be the weapon she was made to be before dying in her arms. Laura and the other children mourn his death and hold a somber burial. Laura takes a moment to turn the cross memorial on its side to form an 'X' before she and the rest continue on their journey across the border.

Cast

The film is said to be Hugh Jackman's final portrayal of the character; he has played the role for 17 years in nine films.

• Hugh Jackman as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine and X-24

A physically enhanced mutant with accelerated healing, dealing with his age and ailment. He is one of Charles Xavier's caregivers, alongside Caliban. Mangold spoke of Logan's age influencing his regenerative capabilities, which he stated may no longer produce soft skin: "...So we imagined he heals quickly, still, but it leaves a scar. The simple idea was that his body would start to get a little more ravaged with a kind of tattooing of past battles, lacerations that remain of previous conflicts." Jackman indicated that he believed he was nearing the end of his run as Wolverine, and there was speculation early on that his next film could be his last. On the second page of the screenplay, Mangold spoke of Logan as "... he's older now and it's clear his abilities aren't what they once were. He's fading on the inside and his diminished healing factor keeps him in a constant state of chronic pain—hence booze as a painkiller." In 2015, Jackman requested fan input for the direction Wolverine's story should go in the next film, while seeming to confirm that the project would serve as his farewell to Logan. To prepare for his role, Jackman ate a minimum of six meals per day, when working with trainer Mike Ryan. Ryan stated that an average workout session for Jackman lasts up to three hours, beginning at 4:00 a.m. Jackman stated, "... it's going to be very different. Very different in tone and hopefully different to anything we've done." Regarding the more personal tone Jackman noted "That's always been really his dilemma, coming to terms with who he is". Jackman has also explained that comedian Jerry Seinfeld was indirectly responsible for his decision to stop playing Logan after 17 years, with Jackman stating, "I was having a chat with [Seinfeld] about a year ago ... he was talking about why he finished Seinfeld ... He said he'd always had this feeling and belief that you never know when either your energy or the audience's energy is going to dip over into people [saying] 'Oh, please go.'" Jackman accepted a pay reduction to ensure that the film would be produced to receive an R-rating. Jackman also plays a clone of Logan called X-24.

• Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X

A mutant who is the world's most powerful telepath, and founder and former leader of the X-Men. Charles's telepathic abilities have become unstable due to age and Alzheimer's Disease, and at times he does not even recognise Logan. During the events of Logan, Xavier is cared for by Logan and Caliban. Regarding Xavier and the themes of aging and loneliness, Mangold said, "We've seen these characters in action, saving the universe. But what happens when you're in retirement and that career is over?... The really interesting thing to me, or a place to dig that hadn't been dug, was the idea of mutants when they're no longer useful to the world, or even sure if they can do what they used to do. Their powers are diminished like all of ours are by age... Our Charles is a very sweet character in this film. I think he's always been an incredibly sweet character. With the addition of his own physical fragility in this movie, he becomes an incredibly powerful paternal figure in the movie. Logan is more of a reluctant one, I think you can easily guess," Mangold stated. Stewart remarked that "...this is probably the end of this franchise for me. But the thing about science fiction and fantasy is that you can never, ever say it's the end, it's over." One month before the film's U.S. premiere, Stewart concluded that he will retire from the role of Charles Xavier, stating that "there will never be a better, a more perfect, a more sensitive, emotional, and beautiful way of saying au revoir to Charles Xavier than this movie".

• Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce

Transigen's relentless, calculating and intense head of security, and leader of the militant Reavers who is sent to retrieve Laura, which brings him into conflict with Wolverine. Holbrook said of the character, "He's an innovative engineer and he's a big fan of Wolverine. He just wants to hang out with him ... There's a lot of surprising stuff in it. Mangold praised Holbrook's performance, saying that "[he] is just a fabulous actor. I wanted this film to feel intimate and real and truthfully acted, and I wanted very much to break away from the kind of bloated feeling I've gotten from a lot of comic-book movies."

• Stephen Merchant as Caliban

An albino mutant who can sense and track other mutants, who is helping Logan take care of Xavier. On Merchant taking the role, Mangold mentioned, "I'm always interested to find the thing that looks most interesting on the actors. Stephen is a huge man. One of the things that is so wonderful filming with him for a character like this is that he’s a good six inches taller than Logan, and huge over Patrick. The little kid in the movie would come up to basically his knee. So there's a wonderful sense of scale – but he has heart too." Mangold concluded by stating, "...So that was a wonderful energy to enter the movie, and someone who instead of turning things into their own energy kind of joined ours." Caliban was previously portrayed by Tómas Lemarquis in X-Men: Apocalypse.

• Richard E. Grant as Zander Rice

The surgical head of Transigen, whose father was killed by Logan during his escape from Weapon X Headquarters at Alkali Lake, in X-Men: Apocalypse. On the character of Rice, Mangold stated, "He's the puppet master behind Pierce and the Reavers, and has a much larger role in the sense that he's actually the kind of brilliant mind that is trying to grow mutants."

• Dafne Keen as Laura Kinney / X-23

A mysterious young mutant, who is "very much" like Logan, given that she is a female clone created from his blood, which was shown to be retrieved by the Essex Corporation at the end of X-Men: Apocalypse. Eventually Transigen acquired some of Logan's DNA, and began making clones to use as weapons. On Keen's portrayal of Laura, Mangold mentioned, "If anyone could steal a movie from [Jackman], it would be Dafne. She carries, all the time, a slight strangeness." Sienna Novikov served as Keen's stunt double. In an interview with Digital Spy, Mangold stated, "... [Keen] was 11 years old when we were shooting. She's a remarkable kid. Her parents are actors, and she's kind of a very modern kid. Very physically capable. Incredibly gifted as an actress. I mean, it was a huge risk for Fox to allow me to make a movie where the third point of the triangle was built upon someone so young." Mangold stated that the worldwide search for an actress to portray Laura was one in which he was seeking "someone who was bilingual because I wanted a Latina kid – one who was between 10 and 12, and was a credible child." He later stated of Laura that: "She's an 11-year-old girl equipped with all the volatility, instability, mood swings, shadows and potential violence of our hero." Co-writer Scott Frank pushed for the character to speak as little as possible when he joined the project to avoid making her into a typical kid sidekick, explaining, "I read a few other drafts of the script that Jim worked on, and in all those drafts she was talking from the beginning and had an attitude. I thought that was a giant mistake."

Additionally, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal and Elizabeth Rodriguez appear as Will Munson, Kathryn Munson, and Gabriela Lopez. Doris Morgado, David Kallaway, Han Soto, Jayson Genao, and Krzysztof Soszynski appear as Maria, Danny Rhodes, Valet, Rictor, and Mohawk, respectively. In the commentary to X-Men: Apocalypse, director Bryan Singer had stated that his film's post-credits scene would directly connect with the on-screen debut of X-Men antagonist Nathaniel Essex / Mister Sinister in Logan; however, in January 2017, Mangold stated that the character would not appear in this film, a choice he made to keep the film's grounded style consistent. Though Mister Sinister does not appear in the film, Kinberg confirmed the scene has correlation to how Laura was created, and that he will make an appearance in a future X-Men movie.

Production

Development

"Hugh and I have been talking about what we would do since we were working on the last one, and for both of us it was this requirement that, to be even interested in doing it, we had to free ourselves from some assumptions that had existed in the past, and be able to change the tone a bit. Not merely to change for change's sake, but also to make something that's speaking to the culture now, that's not just the same style — how many times can they save the world in one way or another? How can we construct a story that's built more on character and character issues, in a way as if it almost wasn't a superhero movie, yet it features their powers and struggles and themes?"

— James Mangold, on the development and approach of Logan

In November 2013, 20th Century Fox began negotiations for another solo film starring Wolverine, with James Mangold in negotiations to write the treatment for the film, and Lauren Shuler Donner returning to produce under The Donners' Company. At the time, Hugh Jackman neither confirmed nor denied whether he had officially signed on to reprise the role of Logan in another film, though Jackman insisted that his lapsing contract with Fox, which reportedly would need to be renegotiated after X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), did not mean he would leave the franchise, as he had been working movie-by-movie since X2 (2003). He also stated, "I do want to do it with Jim and with [producer] Lauren Shuler-Donner because we had such a great experience. I'm really proud of The Wolverine (2013)." Later in the month, Mangold announced that the pre-production aspect of the film had not begun as of yet, nor the writing process, though he furthered this by stating, "...I would say I'm not there yet. But I have taken finger to key. Let's say that. There's been typing. And ideas. And talking amongst all the principals."

Shortly after the release of The Wolverine, Mangold spoke of a potential sequel with the aim of not converting it into a "Will the world survive?" film, while also stressing his need "... not to make the same picture again." Mangold also mentioned some of the potential development structure that he might employ, while addressing issues of character-centricity: "I think the key thing for me, you heard me talking about how I construct scripts, is just figuring out the key relationships and just what it’s about, what theme the whole thing is going to be about. I've got a good angle on it, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet!" In December 2013, Jackman spoke of nearing the end of his tenure as the character, while stating that the film was in the very early stages of development. Jackman also revealed that Mangold and he had begun speaking of potential ideas, adding, "... Jim Mangold and I were literally on the phone last night talking about ideas but there is no script and no writer yet so it's a way off." Mangold would later reveal that Jackman was very involved in developing the story, saying, "Hugh and I have been friends for almost twenty years now, and he was there every step of the way. For Hugh and I, the first goal was to construct something more intimate. Hugh often brought up The Wrestler and Unforgiven as examples. I used those references as well as others. I pitched to both Hugh and the studio that I had an idea for an extremely bloody, existential Little Miss Sunshine."

By March 2014, a decision was made to begin shooting after Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), with the tentative plan to shoot the films back-to-back, with producer Hutch Parker stating, "... the goal will be X:Men: Apocalypse for 2016, which means at the latest [filming begins] in summer 2015, and then the same thing with Wolverine, either before or after, but based on the script." Also in March, 20th Century Fox set a release date of March 3, 2017, Mangold boarded the project as director, Jackman signed on to reprise his role, and David James Kelly was hired to pen the screenplay. In April 2014, Jackman spoke about his ambitious feelings for the character of Logan, while mentioning that they can go further than what they achieved in The Wolverine. Jackman also expressed his feelings of finality with portraying the character of Logan, while in terms of storyline, he explained that nothing had been decided as of yet. Jackman concluded by highlighting that the success of the script development would determine whether Jackman would return at all: "I haven't signed on. I'm genuinely at that point where unless it's better than the last one I'm not going to do it. I think it has to be better. I can still see where we can improve on the last one. I love the intimacy of that story, I liked the small stuff, I liked that it was a little unexpected."

In February 2015, Patrick Stewart spoke of discussions about the third Wolverine film, centering around a team-up between Jackman's Wolverine and himself as Charles Xavier, with Stewart stating to Marc Mohan that "... we have been talking about a Wolverine movie, which would team Hugh Jackman and myself together ... That would be a very different sort of X-Men from the four movies that I've already done." By April 2015, Michael Green had taken over screenwriting duties, with Mangold still actively overseeing the script development process. In September 2015, Jackman spoke of the writers being halfway through the script, and that the story would delve into the relationship between Wolverine and Professor X, to which he added, "I think it's a really important relationship but I want to see signs of that quasi-father/son sort of relationship that has not been seen before, and sides of particularly Professor X that have not been seen before." Jackman spoke of Mangold's plan to start filming the next year, though he expressed uncertainty as to filming locations. Also in September, Mark Millar, creative consultant for Fox, confirmed that Mangold's film would be a loose adaptation of the Old Man Logan story, something that was hinted at earlier by Jackman. In October 2016, the title of the film was announced as Logan.

In January 2016, Jackman confirmed that Mangold had a full screenplay, albeit not complete. The following month, Liev Schreiber expressed interest in returning to portray Victor Creed / Sabretooth, with Jackman himself mentioning Mangold's vision to Schreiber. After the film's release, it was revealed by Jackman that originally the script had the character play a role in the film, but that Sabretooth was excluded from the final screenplay. By April 2016, Mangold had chosen Boyd Holbrook to portray the main antagonist of the movie, the chief of security for a global corporation that is pursuing Wolverine. Also by April, Richard E. Grant was cast as a villainous mad scientist, and Stephen Merchant had also been cast. In May, Eriq Lasalle and Elise Neal were cast supporting roles, and Elizabeth Rodriguez entered negotiations for a small but key role. Also in May, producer Simon Kinberg revealed that filming had already begun, and confirmed that the movie would be R-rated; regarding the setting and tonality, he stated, "It takes place in the future, and as you and others have reported, it is an R-rated movie. It's violent, it’s kind of like a western in its tone. It’s just a very cool, different film."

Filming

Some scenes for Logan were filmed at the NASA Michoud Plant in New Orleans East

In March 2015, Mangold anticipated that filming would begin "early next year." Prior to filming, the film was given the working title of Juarez to lower the visibility of the production. By March 2016, Mangold was preparing to shoot in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a starting schedule of May. Producers Kinberg, Shuler Donner, and Parker chose to film in Louisiana because of its popularity as a filmmaking location, as well as its filming incentive, which includes a 40% tax credit for movie productions, but requires a minimum spend of $300,000.

Principal photography began in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 2, 2016, although it was originally scheduled to start shooting on April 25, 2016. Other filming locations in Louisiana included the NASA Michoud Plant in New Orleans East, Amite City, Husser, the Greenlawn Cemetery in Hammond, Metairie, and the Ferriday Plaza Shopping Center. Exterior scenes were filmed along Louisiana Highway 15. A crash scene was shot on U.S. Route 425, just outside of Ferriday, Louisiana. Producers Kinberg, Shuler Donner and Parker chose to film in Ferriday because of Concordia Parish's beautiful countryside and green cornfields. Scenes were also shot at Sicily Island High School and a house in Sicily Island.

From June 14 to 28, 2016, production was scheduled to take place in Natchez, Mississippi, to film a scene that required the casting of truck drivers. On July 12, 2016, production moved to its third major filming location – New Mexico – which ran through August in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Abiquiú, Tierra Amarilla and Chama. According to the New Mexico Film Office, production employed about 130 New Mexican crew members and two New Mexican cast members, as well as 600 extras. Scenes were shot at the Northern Meadows neighborhood of Rio Rancho, while a few miles further down King Boulevard, an elaborate set was built with a toppled water tower that was used for exterior shots. Principal photography concluded in New Mexico on August 13, 2016.

Post-production

Hugh Jackman as Logan, with makeup and visual special effects.

Post-production began subsequent to filming closure on August 23, 2016. Film editor Michael McCusker described the process of going through dailies and breaking them down, and figuring out the structure of one scene as being "complicated". McCusker stated that the task was time consuming on the front end, but added, "I am looking at the back end experience with [Mangold] as the more important experience. I don't want to be searching for stuff for him, I want to working towards getting the cut right."

Chas Jarrett was the overall visual effects supervisor and visual effects company Image Engine worked on most of the visual effects on Logan.

Music

In July 2016, Cliff Martinez was announced as the composer of Logan's musical score. However, in December 2016, Mangold announced that Marco Beltrami, who had previously collaborated with Mangold on 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and The Wolverine (2013), would score Logan instead.

Track listing

Untitled

All music is composed by Marco Beltrami

Logan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Main Titles"	2:21
2.	"Laura"	2:24
3.	"The Grim Reavers"	1:32
4.	"Old Man Logan"	2:45
5.	"Alternate Route to Mexico"	1:23
6.	"That's Not a Choo-Choo"	2:13
7.	"X-24"	2:46
8.	"El Limo-Nator"	1:38
9.	"Gabriella's Video"	2:35
10.	"To the Cemetery"	0:55
11.	"Goodnight Moon"	1:55
12.	"Farm Aid"	3:11
13.	"Feral Tween"	3:34
14.	"Driving to Mexico"	1:42
15.	"You Can't Break the Mould"	1:07
16.	"Up to Eden"	1:51
17.	"Beyond the Hills"	2:09
18.	"Into the Woods"	3:09
19.	"Forest Fight"	2:30
20.	"Logan vs. X-24"	4:13
21.	"Don't Be What They Made You"	2:04
22.	"Eternum – Laura's Theme"	3:34
23.	"Logan's Limo"	2:32
24.	"Loco Logan"	1:20
25.	"Logan Drives"	2:08

Total Album Length: 57:31

Influences

Director James Mangold has said that Logan's influences included "visual reference points" of cinema, citing Shane (1953), The Cowboys (1972), Paper Moon (1973), The Gauntlet (1977), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), and The Wrestler (2008).

Mangold spoke of cinematography-based framing, while noting that he does not necessarily think about the "comic-book" related sort, instead highlighting the variety of stylistic influences that went into Logan. These influences include film noir framings and classic Hollywood filmmaking styles, as well as the Germanic expressionist filmmaking style of the early part of the last century, which Mangold stated has a commonality with comic-book art. Mangold highlighted "Strong foregrounds, playing things in depth: you have to make an image say more within that one image."

Using the image of Logan at a funeral as an example of his stylistic logic, Mangold concluded by mentioning the aspects within modern filmmaking, primarily everything in close-up format. For Logan, his aim was to set frames that are descriptive, and evocative of comic-book panels and classical filmmaking.

Release

Logan premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival on February 17, 2017, in Berlin, Germany, where it was selected to be screened out of competition alongside The Bar, Final Portrait, Midwife, T2 Trainspotting, and Viceroy's House, before screening in the United States, where it was given a wide release on March 3, 2017. In October 2015, Fox confirmed that Logan would be released in the IMAX format. In the U.S., Canada and UK, the film was preceded by a short film, Deadpool: No Good Deed. In it, Deadpool notices a man getting robbed, and springs into action – but first has to change into his costume in a phone booth. As he is finishing up, the man is shot; the short film ends with Deadpool commenting on the strangeness of the phone booth's presence, and eating the man's Cherry Garcia ice cream. The teaser met with positive reviews. Ryan Reynolds posted an extended version of the teaser via his YouTube channel the day after the film's release.

One Last Time promotion

Prior to the confirmation that the then-untitled Logan would be his final appearance in the X-Men film franchise, Jackman initially repudiated such rumors. Jackman stated that he was inspired by Michael Keaton's performance in Birdman, and wished to portray the character of Wolverine until his death. In July 2015, Jackman posted an image of Logan giving the middle finger with a claw to his Twitter. The image, coupled with the hashtag "#OneLastTime", signified that the film would be his last appearance as Logan, and officially announced his decision to stop playing the character he had been portraying for the past 17 years.

During an appearance on The Dr. Oz Show in May 2015, Jackman clarified the confusion over the conflicting sentiments, by stating bluntly that the film would be his final portrayal as the character; he said, "This will be my last one, it is my last time. It just felt like it was the right time to do it, and let's be honest, 17 years. I never thought in a million years it would last, so I'm so grateful to the fans for the opportunity of playing it. I kind of have in my head what we're going to do in this last one. It just feels like this is the perfect way to go out." Jackman has also explained that Jerry Seinfeld has convinced him to quit the role stating, "He said to me, when you're creating something it's very important not to run yourself dry. It's not about finishing on top, necessarily, but making sure you're, creatively, still got something left, which propels you into the whatever's next."

In December 2016, Ryan Reynolds revealed that he had been trying to convince Jackman to re-sign for a Wolverine/Deadpool crossover film. Urging fans to campaign online, he stated, "I want Deadpool and Wolverine in a movie together. What we're gonna have to do is convince Hugh. If anything, I'm going to need to do what I can to get my internet friends back on board to help rally another cause down the line. Hugh Jackman is one of the best human beings. Part of the reason I want to do a Deadpool/Wolverine movie is not just because I think the two would light the screen on fire but I genuinely love the guy." In January 2017, Reynolds and Jackman spoke about the proposed project; Jackman stated, "I'm hesitating, because I could totally see how that's the perfect fit. But the timing may be wrong." Jackman later stated that he would not reprise the role for a team-up film, specifying, "No, and Ryan is currently sleeping outside my house. [Laughs] Look, if that movie had appeared 10 years ago, probably a different story, but I knew two and a half years ago that this was the last one. The first call I made was to [director James Mangold]. I said, 'Jim, I got one more shot at this,' and as soon as Jim came up with the idea and we worked on it, I was never more excited. But, it feels like the right time. Deadpool, go for it man, do your thing. You don't need me."

Jackman did, however, state that he would be willing to keep playing Wolverine if the character had been brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, elaborating, "If that was on the table when I made my decision, it certainly would have made me pause. That's for sure. Because I always love the idea of him within that dynamic, with the Hulk obviously, with Iron Man but there's a lot of smarter people with MBAs who can't figure that out. You never know. At the moment, honestly, if I really did have them there, I probably wouldn't have said this is the last. It just feels like this is the right time [to leave the character]."

Marketing

In April 2016, Fox decided not to showcase its upcoming movie releases, including Logan, at Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, as the studio felt it could not prevent the piracy of custom trailers and exclusive footage routinely screened for fans in attendance.

On October 20, 2016, 20th Century Fox released a 90-second teaser trailer to promote Logan, following a six-second sneak peek the prior day. Later that day, 20th Century Fox released an international red band version of the trailer, featuring slightly more graphic violence than the original. Empire Magazine chose the trailer as the best trailer of the year. The Hollywood Reporter's Aaron Couch praised the trailer, and stated, "If Logan delivers on the promise of this trailer, it will be a true rarity in modern superhero movie making." James Dyer of Empire heralded the trailer and its director, James Mangold, by stating: "We've had a veritable feast of great trailers ... from John Wick to Rogue One, Assassin's Creed and A Cure for Wellness. But none ..., no matter how impressive, have been quite so artfully constructed as this glorious first look at [Mangold]'s Logan." Forrest Wickman of Slate called the trailer "surprisingly mournful".

Home media

Logan will be available on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K on May 23, 2017, and Digital HD on May 16, 2017.

Logan Noir

On April 29, 2017, James Mangold announced via Twitter that a special black and white version of the film entitled Logan Noir, which would have a limited theatrical run in U.S. theaters, an event set to be begin on May 16, 2017. This version of the film will also be included on the DVD and Blu-ray.

Reception

Box office

As of May 7, 2017, Logan has grossed $225.1 million in the United States and Canada and $383.5 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $608.6 million, against a production budget of $97 million. Worldwide, the film had a global debut of $247.4 million from 82 markets, the biggest of 2017 and the fifth-biggest ever for Fox, as well as the second biggest R-rated IMAX debut, with $20.6 million from 1,068 screens. The film grossed $440.9 million in its first 13 days of release, surpassing the entire theatrical gross of The Wolverine ($414.8 million).

North America

Predictions for its opening in North America were continuously revised upwards, from $55 million to as high as $80 million, with box office pundits noting that the figures could climb even higher. Fox, however, was more conservative with its estimations, predicting an opening in the mid $60 million range. Logan received a record breaking release across 4,071 theaters, the widest for an R-rated film (breaking American Sniper's 3,888 theater count). It is also the widest R-rated IMAX release, across 381 IMAX theaters. 580 theatres were premium large format screens. Two days before the film's release, ticket selling site Fandango reported that the film was outpacing all previous X-Men movies (except Deadpool) at the same point in their sales cycle.

Logan earned $9.5 million from Thursday night previews, which began at 7 pm. This marked the second biggest previews in the X-Men franchise, behind only Deadpool's $12.7 million. On its opening day, the film scored the biggest R-rated March opening, with $33.1 million (breaking 300's record), as well as the third biggest R-rated debut after Deadpool ($47.3 million) and The Matrix Reloaded ($37.5 million). Earning a total of $88.4 million during its opening weekend, the film scored the biggest Wolverine movie opening, the biggest R-rated March opening, the fourth biggest March opening, the fifth-largest X-Men opening, and the fifth biggest R-rated opening overall (ninth in terms of inflation adjusted). It is also the biggest R-rated opening weekend that did not take place on a holiday. Approximately 8.2% of the total ticket sales came from Canada, with premium large formats comprising $12.3 million (15%) from 558 screens, and IMAX comprising $10 million (12%) of the film's total opening weekend.

Males comprised a bulk of the audience demographic during its opening weekend, with 63%, while females comprised 37%, with 83% of the audience being between 18 and 44 years of age. Critics noted that the R rating – the second ever for the X-Men franchise – could be a hindering factor in the film's mass appeal. However, by the time of its release, the film was acclaimed by critics and raved by audiences. Good reviews, anticipation from fans, as well as lack of competition were highlighted behind the film's robust opening. According to a poll conducted by Fandango during its opening weekend, 71% of moviegoers said that more superhero films should be rated R, while 86% were interested in seeing a more violent, adult X-Men film that weekend. Furthermore, 96% said they were excited to see Hugh Jackman, 94% were intrigued to see Patrick Stewart reprising his role as Professor X, and 76% were interested in watching newcomer Dafne Keen. In its second weekend, the film dropped 56.9%, grossing $38.1 million and finishing second at the box office behind newcomer Kong: Skull Island ($61 million). In its third weekend it made $17.8 million, finishing in third behind Beauty and the Beast ($174.8 million) and Kong: Skull Island ($27.8 million). In its fourth weekend it made $10.1 million, dropping 43.1% from the previous week and finishing 5th at the box office.

Outside North America

Outside North America, Logan was projected to open as high as $105 million. In North America, though, forecasters believed that it could post an even higher opening if it were to overperform in major markets—most notably China. It opened day-and-date in almost every major market except Japan, where Doraemon the Movie 2017 was released. Fox ultimately decided to postpone the film's release there in order to avoid competition. Through Sunday, the film exceeded expectations and posted a five-day opening worth $152.5 million from 81 markets. This is Fox International's third biggest launch of all time, behind X-Men: Days of Future Past ($172 million) and Avatar ($164 million). It debuted at No. 1 in 80 markets. It broke the record for the biggest R-rated IMAX release ever and the biggest 2D IMAX opening, with $10.6 million on 687 screens.

In Brazil, it recorded the biggest opening for Fox, and the seventh biggest opening overall, with $8.2 million. The top openings were in China ($46.3 million), the U.K. ($11.4 million), Korea ($8.2 million), and Russia ($7.1 million). In India, the film debuted with an estimated 17 crore ($2.5 million) net, equating to a gross of $3.4 million, on 1,400 screens. According to Fox, that was the highest debut for any X-Men title in the territory, marginally ahead of X-Men: Apocalypse. While the debut was not enough to break any significant records, it ranked as the second biggest opening weekend for a Hollywood release in the January–March quarter, behind Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. In China, it became the first ever film – both local and foreign – required by a new law, promulgated by the Film Promotion Law, to feature an age-restriction warning in its marketing material; it went into effect on March 1, 2017, despite fourteen minutes of the film's running time being truncated. Despite such restrictions, the film managed to debut with a better-than-expected $48.9 million, including previews, according to data from Ent Group (Fox reported $46.3 million). This marked the second biggest X-Men opening in the country, trailing behind only Apocalypse. Tracking showed that the film opened with 85,000 screenings on Friday, which increased to about 95,000 on Saturday and Sunday, from a 9.98 million attendance. Included within that total was $4.4 million from 388 IMAX screens.

Critical response

Logan has received universal acclaim since its release, with praise being given to the new portrayal of the titular character, as well as the gritty action sequences and emotional depth of the story. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 289 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Hugh Jackman makes the most of his final outing as Wolverine with a gritty, nuanced performance in a violent but surprisingly thoughtful superhero action film that defies genre conventions." Metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale. Some reviewers noted Logan as one of the greatest superhero films of all-time.

Scott Collura of IGN gave Logan a score of 9.7/10, and called the film, "an emotional, heavy picture, but it’s also an uplifting one that reminds us that it’s okay to fight for something more, something better," and "perhaps the best X-Men movie yet." A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film an 'A-', and said "[the film] manages to deliver the visceral goods, all the hardcore Wolverine action its fans could desire, while still functioning as a surprisingly thoughtful, even poignant drama—a terrific movie, no 'comic-book' qualifier required." Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a 'B-', and called it "both the most violent film in the series and the most sentimental one. When it's not showering you in blood, it's trying to make you spill tears." Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter reacted positively, saying: "Seamlessly melding Marvel mythology with Western mythology, [director] James Mangold has crafted an affectingly stripped-down standalone feature, one that draws its strength from Hugh Jackman's nuanced turn as a reluctant, all but dissipated hero."

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it 4/5, stating "It is more like a survivalist thriller than a superhero film, and signals its wintry quality with the title itself" and compared Wolverine's hitting of his truck during the film to Basil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers. James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave it 3.5/4 and said, "In terms of tone and content, Logan is Deadpool's polar opposite but both productions refuse to play by traditional superhero movie rules ... With his glimpse into what superhero movies can be, James Mangold has given us something sadly lacking in recent genre entries: hope." Kyle Smith of the New York Post also gave the film 3.5/4 and said "the film recognizes that superhero movies such as last year’s forgettable X-Men: Apocalypse have become meaningless spectacle ... I'd rank it beside X-Men: Days of Future Past among the best X-Men entries." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com stated, "Logan has stakes that feel real, and fight choreography that’s fluid and gorgeous instead of just computer-generated effects. Most importantly, Logan has characters with which you identify and about whom you care. It's not just 'great for a superhero movie,' it's a great movie for any genre."

Brian Truitt of USA Today said, "Logan is The Dark Knight of Marvel Comics. A gripping film that transcends the comic book genre." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5/4, and called it "a hard-ass, R-rated rager that explodes with action". Amy Nicholson of MTV called it "a phenomenal, throat-slashing, gut-stabbing superhero movie". Germain Lussier of io9 said, "Logan is beautiful, sophisticated, and still a kick-ass superhero film". Robert Kojder of Flickering Myth said, "It isn't just a good superhero film or a fantastic blockbuster, it's an exceptional movie period." Michael Roffman of Consequence of Sound called the film "A game-changing masterpiece." John Ehrett of The Federalist said, "Logan is hands-down the best superhero movie ever made." Matt Donato of We Got This Covered said, "It’s not just one of the best superhero movies ever, it’s a damn-fine cinematic representation of the human condition in all its agonizing forms." Joe Morgenstern of Wall Street Journal said, "It's the best superhero film to come out of the comic-book world, and I’m not forgetting Christopher Nolan’s 'The Dark Knight'." Jackman's acting as Wolverine have been lauded with wide acclaim and his performance topped The Hollywood Reporter's Greatest Superhero Movie Performances of All Time list.

On the other hand, Anthony Lane of The New Yorker reacted negatively, saying "If ever there was a time to hang up [Hugh Jackman]'s claws, that time is now." Mara Reinstein of Us Weekly gave the film 2.5/4 and specified, in a lukewarm review, that "[T]he film loses its way during the 20-minutes-too-long journey. For all the breathless talk about how Logan transcends the superhero genre, there’s nothing groundbreaking about a road trip movie in which adults try to elude the bad guys to protect a super-special child." Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film 2/4 and said, "Logan is deadly serious, and while its gamer-style killing sprees are meant to be excitingly brutal, I found them numbing and, in the climax, borderline offensive." Stephanie Zacharek of Time magazine said, "The grim side of human nature is all over James Mangold's Logan. But that doesn't necessarily make it a good movie."

Awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
MTV Movie & TV Awards	May 7, 2017	Movie of the Year	Logan	Nominated
		Best Actor in a Movie	Hugh Jackman	Nominated
		Best Duo	Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen	Won

Future

During production of the film, Jackman and Ryan Reynolds have both spoken about the possibility of a Wolverine/Deadpool crossover in the Deadpool sequel, despite the fact that Logan was meant to be Jackman's final appearance as Wolverine. In February 2017, Jackman said that he had made up his mind and would not be appearing in a Deadpool sequel. His reasoning was that he felt Logan had the perfect ending to Wolverine's story arc.

Mangold stated that with the introduction of Laura Kinney / X-23 into the X-Men film universe, he would like to see the character appear in future films, and would want to be involved should that happen. Simon Kinberg, producer of the X-Men film universe, later stated that the studio had plans for future movies that would be revealed soon, and that there might be another film featuring X-23 in the future.

Although Patrick Stewart had stated that Logan would be the final time he played the role of Professor X, he later stated that he would be willing to return to the role in Deadpool 2 or the Legion TV series.

External links

• Official website
• Logan at IMDb
• Logan at Box Office Mojo
• Logan at Rotten Tomatoes
• Logan at Metacritic
• Logan review at AllMovie by Lexi Cummins (rating 3.5/5)