This has been an uneasy year for Fox Studios in regards to their X-Men franchise. They began the year with one of their biggest R-rated releases ever with Deadpool, which went on to gross over $700 million dollars worldwide. They followed that in May with X-Men: Apocalypse, that was an overall disappointment critically and with many comic book fans. That, combined with other troubled productions, has left many uncertain about the future of mutants on film. However, that’s because most forgot that Wolverine 3 is on the way.
The previously untitled sequel been relatively quiet on the rumor front. However, in the spring we and were able to uncover the presence of X-23. Today, Fox put fans back on guard with a new poster and an official title for the upcoming movie. It will simply be called, Logan.
Comic book fans know that to be Wolverine’s “true” name and also a reference to the “Old Man Logan” series that the movie supposedly draws inspiration from. While the poster seems simple, it does tell a lot. Including the presence of a younger person that Wolverine is protecting, as well as cuts on his hands. This is a clear indication that his advanced healing factor has regressed. The poster raises a lot of questions, however The Wrap swooped in to answer many of them with this scoop.
“Logan” takes place in the year 2024. The film is dark. Darker than any other other “Wolverine” or “X-Men” movie.
Old Man Logan is in full effect. Logan looks bad, and drinks a lot. For work, he drives a 2024 Chrysler 300 limo that looks modified in the front to look more futuristic. He’s sick, his powers are fading, and he heals much more slowly — and sometimes not at all.
This not only lines up with elements of the comic story line and the film’s expected R-rating, but also raises the stakes for the character. Whether his powers are fading due to the manipulations of someone like Mister Sinister, or if it’s simply due to old age, it seems that this will be a daring interpretation. In fact, director James Mangold (3:10 To Yuma) provided a page of the script for Logan, which relates the tone and unflinching violence in store for Wolverine’s third solo adventure.
It’s clear that this hard-edged look at superheroics, will be in contrast to the colorful world of the MCU. Deadpool proved that there is a larger, mature comic book friendly audience that is seeking more gritty takes. Wolverine’s character is tailor-made for mature storytelling, so this may be a perfect match. However, this script page doesn’t explain what is going on in the larger world or with any supporting characters in Logan. Fortunately, The Wrap was able to fill us all in.
We learned further details about the from an insider who said that the girl in the poster is a young mutant. In 2024, mutant births are severely in decline, and people aren’t sure why. We find out about a government-type operation called “Transigen” that is turning mutant children into killing machines. Logan ends up mentoring the girl, who has two claws instead of his three.
There’s more. Professor X (Patrick Stewart) is old and not well. His powers are unstable and at times he doesn’t even remember Logan. Stephen Merchant plays the Albino mutant Caliban, who helps Logan take care of Professor X.
There have been a lot of set photos that surfaced in the past of Logan wheeling an elderly Professor X, which again confirms the scoop’s validity. It’s unclear why the mutant population would be in decline, but it would stand to reason that the Essex corporation would be involved in the crisis.
The movie is less than six months away from release, so we can expect to begin seeing a lot more from the production. It would also stand to reason that a teaser trailer is on the way (perhaps with Doctor Strange?) to get fans excited about Hugh Jackman’s last hurrah as Wolverine. So stay tuned…
Logan opens on March 3rd, 2017.
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Source: IGN