Director James Mangold on the 'Logan' Trailer, Including Why the Wolverine Is So Physically Scarred
Yesterday, Fox unveiled the first trailer for Logan, Hugh Jackman’s third and final turn as Marvel’s X-Men member Wolverine — and the Internet promptly went nuts for it. Teasing what appears to resemble a post-apocalyptic Western, the clip for director James Mangold’s second film about the character (he also helmed 2013’s The Wolverine) shows the movie will clearly head off into stark, sorrowful new terrain. In speaking with Empire, the filmmaker touched upon some of the promo’s biggest mysteries — including why Jackman’s mutant is, for all his regenerative healing powers, so physically ravaged.
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The reason, as it turns out, simply has to do with age. Mangold and Jackman believed that as Wolverine grew older, his restorative abilities would (like everyone’s body) begin to break down a bit. And given that this version of the character exists in a somewhat distant future in which mutants have become mostly extinct, it made sense to imagine him as a more fragile being.
“We felt like we couldn’t hold on to every tradition established in all the movies religiously, or we’d be trapped by the decisions made before us. So we questioned whether Logan’s healing factor causes him to heal without even a scar. We imagined that it may have when he was younger, but with age, he’s getting older and ailing. Perhaps his healing factor no longer produces baby-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.”
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That’s also why Patrick Stewart’s Professor Xavier appears in the trailer in a makeshift hospital bed, looking like he’s on the verge of death.
“We’re finding all these characters in circumstances that are a little more real. The questions of aging, of loneliness, of where I belong. Am I still useful to the world? I saw it as an opportunity. We’ve seen these characters in action, saving the universe. But what happens when you’re in retirement and that career is over?”
Mangold refuses to address the fact that, in one shot, a morose-looking Wolverine and his young companion appear to be standing over a grave — suggesting that, perhaps, they’ve just buried Professor Xavier. Nor would he discuss whether that girl is, in fact, X-23, the mutant clone of Wolverine who’s long been rumored to show up in the X-Men cinematic universe, saying, “I think it’s great that everyone’s speculating and I think it reveals how smart the audience is, many of the fans, about these characters. I don’t think they’re on the wrong track.”
If fans are on the right track, then expect such rumors to only pick up steam ahead of Logan’s March 3, 2017 theatrical debut. To hear Mangold’s thoughts on these topics and more, check out Empire’s exclusive interview.
Watch the trailer:
