8 Upcoming Movies That Could Save Failing Franchises

3) Logan

The franchise: Despite being by far the most popular character the X-Men movies have spawned, neither of the previous solo endeavors for Wolverine have set the genre alight. The first, X-Men Origin: Wolverine, was downright terrible while the follow-up, The Wolverine was simply a passable action movie. The upcoming third movie for the adamantium anti-hero looks to be far removed from the last two, however. Director James Mangold is still in charge, but the ethos is of a stripped-back human drama. Something made clear in its simple title – Logan. 

The movie: The first thing that got us interested in Logan was the fact that it was R-rated – finally giving the character a chance to really let loose in his final appearance, after two decades of being confined by PG-13 movies. Still, as much as we like seeing Wolvie slice into people, what’s even more promising about Logan is that it looks to focus on the man behind the claws.

Featuring an older, grizzlier Wolvie who’s losing his regenerative abilities, it will surely let Hugh Jackman stretch his considerable acting talents. Add in a welcome reappearance by Patrick Stewart as Professor X and an exciting new character in X-23, and Logan could well be one of the best X-Men movies ever.